Chinese President Hu Jintao is on a 10-day-visit to Africa now. Many state-owned news media such as Xinhua News Agency [1] and People’s Daily [2], headline his visit on their websites’ front page almost everyday. His tour has also attracted attention from Chinese netizens.
The Chinese government regards Hu’s visit as a great diplomatic victory. Many Chinese echo with exultance.
A popular post applaudeded Hu’s effort in Sudan’s Darfur crisis, China vs. the US in Africa: Bush failed, Hu Jintao succeeded!!! [3]
在俺们胡哥的亲切的微笑中,达尔富尔问题就这样解冻了!在俺们胡哥的亲切的微笑中,联合国的维和部队就快要进住了!
布什做不到的,胡哥在微笑中做到了!!!
中非友谊是真正的友谊!!!!!!!!!
支持胡哥!
Bush failed, brother Hu succeeded with smile!!!
Sino-Africa friendship is a true friendship!!!!!!
Support brother Hu!!!!
At the same time, many blogs [4] and BBSes [5] cross-posted analysis from all over.
China’s role in Africa [6] from Singapore’s Zaobao is one of the popular articles,
中国在非洲所要扮演的角色,依然是第三世界利益的维护者,但不再是国际秩序的挑战者。在非洲大陆继续站稳脚跟,同时又要避免与西方国家发生对抗,这应该是当前中国对非洲外交的思考方向。
Many bloggers seem to not understand China’s Africa strategy, especially Hu’s promised economic aid to Africa. They think China is a poor, developing country. It should take care of its own business before it goes out to help others.
This blogger, benfei [7], strongly questions China’s policy in helping Africa,
质问:中国只是个发展中国家,又不是发达国家,不是钱多的没地方花,自己国内的问题都没解决好,在国际上装什么大尾巴狼啊?每年GDP的增长都高居世界榜首,可国内民众受惠在何处了?那些无聊的数字又代表了什么意义?民众的住房、医疗、教育问题都急需政府的大投入,自己都入不敷出,还谈什么媚外啊?民众的贫富差距早在 05年左右就超出了国际警戒线,可谁来过问,谁来关心?由此产生的一系列社会问题已严重加剧了不稳定因素。这一切老百姓都看的那么清楚,我们的政府难道就熟视无睹?看看希望工程里那些可怜的孩子,再看看那些丑态百出的贪官们,民众的心在泣血,国家的责任何在?
This blogger, RuYi [8], is suspicious of the policy, but he is not so emotional and even makes his own suggestions on helping Africa.
…
不是说非洲不应该帮助,
…
我觉得我们在帮助别人的时候,
首先要看看我们自己的承诺和自己的经济实力是不是能成正比.
要知道我们还是发展中国家,
我们的经济基础依然薄弱.
按发达国家的人均水平,我们目前依然贫困.
…
我们帮助非洲国家 ,我没有意见.
…
但是需要看到的是中国目前的一系列问题.
我们的有很多贫困学生无法得到资助,而上不了学.
…
却要资助非洲国家2000名学生,甚至更多的学生在中国上学.
…
I think before we help others,
we should see whether our commitments are proportional to our economic strength.
We should know that our country is a developing country,
our economic foundation remains weak.
Compared with those developed countries on per capita level, we are still poor.
…
I am not against helping African countries,
…
But we must see China currently has a series of problems.
We have many poor students. They get no funding to go to school.
…
Yet, we need to fund 2000 and more African students to study in China.
He continues to offer his 7 advices on helping Africa:
1. Seek voluntary university students to go and help Africa;
2. More help in building Africa's police system, stabilize the societies;
3. Set up Chinese areas in Africa;
4. Encourage Chinese businesspersons to develop in Africa;
5. Transfer some agricultural technologies to Africa;
6. Advise Chinese in Africa to get the local citizenship;
7. Completely open bilateral trade.
Although Chinese opinions on China’s Africa strategy are not so unified, people are getting more and more interested in Africa.
Voc.com.cn has recently started a special session, Read Elites’ Works, Taste African Coffee [9], for propagating African culture. Moreover, they have invited the Ethiopian Ambassador, Haile Kiros Gessesse and Kenya's Ambassador, Ruth Sereti Solitei, to start blogs on their site [10].
This girl, A Hedgehog in the Forest [11], talked about her African dream when she saw the news of Hu Jintao visiting Africa. In her post, Blessing Africa [12], she wrote:
最近一个时期,中国和非洲许多国家都会是“蜜月期”,因为一个大国的元首到非洲出访,会给非洲国家和人民无限的荣耀和实惠。所以,在我心底埋藏的愿望就有可能实现了——今生就想去非洲。