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There are different reasons for which China is currently investing in the African continent. In fact, in the eyes of the Chinese authorities, such investments are essential for securing the country’s multiple needs. In this regard, the most important objective of the government is to ensure the constant flow of oil as the country is becoming one of the main oil consumers worldwide. For this reason, one can notice that the majority of investments made by the Chinese government are taking place in countries that have huge oil reserves and which are being currently exported to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Thus, these countries are benefiting from the many incentives offered by the Chinese government due to the huge need of oil for satisfying the constantly growing energy demand. Moreover, China is also importing other strategic natural resources from the continent such as steel, copper, coal, platinum, and cement. As such, several investments are also directed toward securing the flow of these precious resources. Additionally, Chinese investments in Africa are aiming at avoiding the huge tariffs barriers imposed by the Western countries. In this context, the relatively easy access to the African market allows the Chinese companies to export to Western nations via African countries that are granted preferential treatments in the trade field. In the chapter Chinese Investment in Africa: Strengthening the Balance Sheet, the authors Mark Klaver and Michael Trebilcock examined these matters in details. However, the authors also emphasized on the positive aspects of Chinese Investments on the economies of the African states. As such, despite the current unbalanced economic situation, one has to acknowledge the great impacts made through the Chinese investments on the overall development of several African states, in particular, those that have an abundance of natural resources. In fact, the Chinese investments that are taking place in the African continent have managed to raise the commodity prices as a result of the high demand for natural resources which in consequences raises African revenues. One has to only analyze the constant rise in the price of resources such as oil or metals like aluminum, nickel, zinc, platinum, and gold in the last decade as a result of the growth of demands for such resources or metals in the PRC. Moreover, the demand for such resources has forced Chinese companies to invest in the development of capabilities to extract in the African countries which were until recently lacking. Such situation has affected the exports of these resources which also influenced the revenues of the African states. Likewise, the demand for resources led the Chinese companies to invest in infrastructure in order to facilitate the extraction and the transfer of these resources. Additionally, Chinese investments stimulated the development of the manufacturing sector directly and indirectly. What is more, Chinese investments have created new employment possibilities to African workers where the majority of workers employed in the Chinese companies are African. Beijing has also adopted an open trade policy improving African access to China’s market. Finally, Chinese investments affected the consumers in the continent by lowering the prices of the products such as goods and food and by facilitating the access to new products such as refrigerators and laundry machines. Thus, Chinese investments in the African continent have greatly contributed to the economic development of African states.
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