confidentially speaking
The Africa Confidential Blog
China's new diplomatic mission
Blue Lines
An early winner in the diplomatic gamesmanship around the COP21
Climate Change Conference in Paris, where 150 world leaders gathered
this week,
is China. Environmental
degradation and fossil fuel pollution have
become physical dangers for hundreds of millions of people in its
mega-cities but China is now producing over half the world's solar
panels and is said to be nearing a breakthrough in the production and
storage of solar electricity.
The next stage is establishing a new generation of green power
stations
in the world's sunniest continent: Africa. China also produces about
40% of the world's electrically powered high-speed trains and 20% of
its wind turbines.
Hours after President Xi Jinping
addressed the Paris conference on 30
November, he flew to Zimbabwe
for glad-handing and on to South
Africa
for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Since Beijing's economic
rebalancing has depressed world commodity prices and shaken several
African countries, Xi wanted to reassure his audience. Accordingly, its
delegation to Johannesburg has come with funding for new transport and
power projects. A week later, China will take over the chair of the
Group of 20. Although it is still not a member of the World Trade
Organisation, Beijing wants to use its G-20 leadership to push for a
conclusion to the Doha round of trade reform negotiations – in the
process having a jab at those rich countries and their agricultural
subsidies which suppress the price of African farm products.
