Zambia: Caught in China-USA crosshairs*
…as the giants fight for supremacy in Africa
Amb. Anthony Mukwita wrote
15th December 2022
This week, many of us that follow international relations or diplomacy woke to a rather strange tweet by the respected Senator of the United States Bob Menendez who encouraged our dear President H.E Hakainde Hichilema to scoff on China and embrace Uncle Sam.
When I saw the tweet, I thought it smacked of contempt for China and condescended Zambia, leaving no room for our country to be “its own man.”
The tweet read in part, “I was honoured to meet with President Hichilema, a strong leader and bright spot for democracy in Africa. HH is working hard to “curb China´s malign and predatory influence in Zambia, as well as increase cooperation with the US…”
In my view as a former Ambassador Extra-Ordinary and plenipotentiary, the tweet crossed the line of what the decorum of diplomacy is all about but then I could be wrong.
What concerned me even more is the fact that, after the fact, the foreign office of Zambia ´has not´ come back to explain what Zambia´s position really is regarding its relations with China and the United States following the tweet.
For instance, given the cosy picture of the beloved President of Zambia with the Senator, does it mean President Hichilema, our beloved President believes that Hernandez´s statement that predatory debt has been imposed on Zambia by China, a long-time friend of Zambia true? The jury is still out.
Having been privileged to serve Zambia as an Ambassador in a crucial station like Berlin and Stockholm, I wonder whether Zambia has now cast aside diplomatic decorum of ´neutrality´ and embraced Uncle Sam as its sole buddy abandoning China or indeed any other diplomatic ties.
My limited understanding of diplomacy and geopolitics is that, as the globe becomes smaller, we, as a country, no matter how poor we are become friends with everyone that doesn’t break global laws such as abuse of human rights and good governance.
We dictate whom we want to be partners with and not depend on one power point to dictate how we love or hate, how we die or live, how we cry or laugh.
China according to available studies has been with Zambia long before Zambia was Zambia, she escalated relations with Zambia as the first diplomatic partner at independence in 1964.
The Asian dragon breathed life in the erection of the Tanzania Zambia Railway (TAZARA) link in order to over pass the apartheid regime of South Africa and Ian Smith´s Southern Rhodesia, which was in cohorts with the West when we fought for the liberation of southern Africa from colonialists. What has changed?
How then does a country that did not support southern Zambia when China did, today come forth to condemn relations between the two, China and Zambia? Just asking questions.
We want to be friends with everyone within acceptable global norms.
I was therefore not perplexed when I saw a response from China as the hits keep coming on right from the top.
As far as “predatory loans” or debt to poor countries like Zambia go, the Ambassador of China to the United States H.E Qin Gang said in a recent interview ahead of the US Africa summit that the notion is nothing but propaganda.
Citing the west´s own ´Debt Justice´, Ambassador Qin said, “African countries owe three times more debt to Western countries than to China…our debt is not a trap, it’s a benefit.”
Also, no evidence, none whatsoever shows that China will take over any state asset of Zambia due to default or any other African country for that matter.
But also, we must be cognisant of the fact that the United States for instance has been feeding Zambia with about US$500 million annually in money for the health sector, and so has China in infrastructure. Take a look at the KKIA.
Of special note is I have not seen China say, “Zambia stop dealing with the West because of XYZ deal with us because we don’t impose our values on you… we love you just the way you are.”
In Zambia, we drive on Chinese made roads, land and take off on international airports built by China, play soccer in soccer stadia funded by China.
We also thrive on American democracy and development aid, we are caught between the dragon and the blue, red stripes, and stars.
The lesson is we MUST grow our economy and become ´independent´ of maybe both the west and east.
If you don’t stand for something, you risk falling for anything. I read that somewhere!
Failure to that, we shall become the kicking ball of the rich west and east in the fast-growing geopolitical game.
Either way, I think our government and beloved President Hichilema must come clean and tell us whether he supports Senator Hernandez playing him against the dragon.
We have a great country with a history of ´nonalignment´ from the days of independence, perhaps it is time for us to draw a line in the sand now and state where and whom we are.
I could write on, but I stop here, for more details look out for my next book, “The Rise of China in Africa, a Zambian tale” due in January 2023.
It is a recast from my master’s degree study in International Relations thesis that was passed with good grades.
Note: Ambassador Anthony Mukwita has served Zambia as a diplomat in Stockholm and Berlin at a high level. He is a published author and former CEO of a national newspaper in Zambia. Ambassador Mukwita has also won a World Bank award in Investigate Journalism that saw him interned to the London based Bureau of Investigative Journalism. His next book on China-Zambia relations hits the shelves on Amazon in January 2023.
