Fledgling colonial power?

Chinese Navy seeks to Expand its Naval Power

YALONG BAY, China — The Chinese military is seeking to project naval power well beyond the Chinese coast, from the oil ports of the Middle East to the shipping lanes of the Pacific, where the United States Navy has long reigned as the dominant force, military officials and analysts say.

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The Next Empire

All across Africa, new tracks are being laid, highways built,ports deepened, commercial contracts signed—all on an unprecedented scale, and led by China, whose appetite for commodities seems insatiable. Do China’s grand designs promise the transformation,at last, of a star-crossed continent? Or merely its exploitation? The author travels deep into the heart of Africa, searching for answers.

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My comments: Obviously China is growing in strength and their ability to project force is growing. As many of the pre-WWI colonial powers knew, a state needs a navy to project their power to the far flung corners of the earth. The first article speaks on this and the second follows up on China's commitments and interests in the former colonies of the European Empires.

However, its worth noting that the USA still stands able to project their will across the world and Russia is rapidly approaching their former strength, not to mention the EU picking up former military and economic interests remaining since the wars of decolonization. During the Cold War this great power rivalry resulted in much strife and suffering for the African nations and I expect that with the re-emergence of a multi-polar world, the plight of Africa will resume. I imagine that the US and likely Russia will seek to undermine the gains of their rivals on the continent, leading to coups and civil wars, not too dissimilar to the current state of central Asia and the Middle East.

Points of interest that caught my attention:

The article portrays China as a state better at capitalism than the West. Their offer of loans for development without strings, such as democratic elections and even more importantly Communist rule, is striking.

China isn't giving up ownership of the railroads they build. This is similar to USA ownership of the Panama Canal or British ownership of Suez in that China's national interests are tied to a physical transportation system outside of China. Should rebellion, civil war or a coup break out in one of the host countries, China will likely pressure the government, old or new, to secure Chinese interests. This may result in troops deployed and, potentially, the setting up of a regime friendly to China.

Chinese settlers are a major facet of this neo-colonialism that deserves close attention. At the moment, the article cites 3,000 Chinese settlers in Mozambique, the numbers are minuscule. But it only took less than 10% white settlers in South Africa to secure power for 90 years and racial tensions have long been the source of strife in colonies. The bit on Zambia a two-thirds of the way through the article seems to prefigure some of the potential conflicts.