Berita

On May 29, 2023, the International Relations Masters Program University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (HIPM UMY), in collaboration with the UMY HIPM Corps, successfully held the 8th edition of the routine agenda of the Forum Group Discussion (FGD), which took place in class 308, Postgraduate Building, UMY. In this FGD #8, the HIPM Corps presents a resource person who is an expert in his field, namely Kudakwashe Chirambwi, Ph.D., a lecturer at the National University of Zimbabwe, who will give his ideas regarding “The Existence of China in African Countries: Opportunity and Challenge.” This discussion was moderated by Audi Izzat Muttaqien, a HIPM UMY student, and was attended by 16 other HIPM students.

China, which is predicted to be a country that will usurp the status of the United States (US) as a superpower, has successfully implemented the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) policy. This policy framework is one of China’s strategies to shift the US position as a superpower by offering large investment funds to countries through the BRI route. China has successfully expanded its cooperation to Africa through the BRI policy. China places the African continent as one of the top trading partners within the BRI policy framework by utilizing African natural resources capable of supporting China’s magnificent project. Therefore, it is unsurprising that China’s presence slowly develops in Africa.

In his presentation, Kudakwashe said that the population of Chinese people currently reaches 1.5 million people, which makes them the largest non-African migrant population on the continent. In addition 2023, there will be the top 10 African countries, with most Chinese workers spread across various employment sectors. The ten countries are South Africa (400,000 workers), Madagascar (100,000 workers), Zambia (80,000), Sudan (74,000 workers), Ethiopia (60,000 workers), Angola (55,000 workers), Kenya (50,000 workers), Nigeria (45,000 workers), Uganda (40,000 workers), and Ghana (30,000 workers).

On the same occasion, Kudakwashe said that there are three reasons why African people can easily accept China. First, China has strong historical ties with various African countries, especially during the Cold War. Second, there is a cultural similarity of “communalism” in trade and economic aspects. The last reason is that Africa has a bad history with Europe regarding slavery.

On the other hand, China’s presence is also a threat to Africa. Nineteen African countries are under debt pressure within the BRI investment framework, one of which is Zambia which has an estimated debt of $17.3 billion. Responding to this, the President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, said, “The burden of debt from China is like pythons around our necks, ribs, and legs.” Finally, Kudakwashe adds that economic coercion in Africa has encouraged economic and political fragmentation. Ultimately, Africa could not take advantage of BRI policy opportunities properly and faced challenges due to China’s presence in its territory.

At the end of the discussion, this activity was filled with a question-and-answer session. Student enthusiasm in participating in this discussion forum can be seen from the critical questions asked by Eiga Sitompul and Audi Izzat. Kudakwashe also advised the audience to keep learning and increasing their knowledge as much as possible.