China's growing role

Concerns about the recent economic growth and widening presence of the People's Republic of China express the state of human relations. They are not just about present China but how people in various parts of the world have related to others.

From the concerns, we learn about attitudes and how persons, at individual and group levels, relate to and act towards others. They tell us about hopes and fears. They tell us about past, present, and future relations. They tell us about treatment of others and joyful or painful experiences received from others.

Some concerns are centred on economic dominance and actions arising from those who appear to hold dominance. Some have used their economic organisation as a tool to dominate, oppress and suppress others. Economics and business have acted as keys to human domination. They have even led to the savage depth of humans selling others in slavery. Enslavement and serfdom still go on in various forms, involving individuals and groups. In search of material, resource and financial advantage, other individuals, groups, and societies have been controlled and oppressed.

Business, investment, and even aid, have been used as mechanisms to control ideas, directions, and futures of other peoples. A weakness is the idea keyed into many persons that levels of money and finance should always determine one's state of happiness and contribution to society. Those with money, even while having inappropriate ideas, are made to dominate. Through such dominance, societies have gone onto negative and self-destructive paths.

Yet this need not be the only way things should go. This materialist direction is actually cultural specific and is not a universal attitude. It is not universal truth. There are other deep, influential and important aspects of life. There are other ways of doing things and relating to others. Happiness, contentment, and peace are not always dependent on the dominant economic structures. One can rise above dominant political and economic systems and be at peace.

Some people fear China's economic strength. At the core is the established culture of domination by the economically strong. Through various ways, our brothers and sisters in the industrial west have for long dominated the economic system they have tried to set up worldwide. Unfair aspects of economic relations mean that some economic and financial practices are not sustainable.

As observed about some harsh capitalist and communist systems, unfairness and injustice are against human freedom and the gift of choice.

The human spirit will rise and rebel against such unfairness. Thus, because of past unfair relations, people of Africa and other parts of the world are considering other directions. They are thinking of other partners. Thus China's ascendance threatens some people in the western world.

For some, China's ascendance is making them lose grip on people they have for long had unfair relations. For some, it is about keeping a trapped person to themselves. The freedom of another requires letting go of the yoke holding back that person. The bondage may give the holder of chains much material benefit that, having been too dependent on the yoked, will be affected by the freedom of the other.

In trade, some in the western world recently failed to compete with China on terms the western governments themselves set. T-shirt and textile wars and protectionism against China are examples of western businesses and governments changing goal posts when others are playing well.

Sometimes, to deal with shifting economic directions, some in the western world have instigated persons in Africa to condemn China. Yet some movers stirring anti China attitudes in Africa and other places are those who fear to lose grip on Africa. They are trying to show they are better masters.

Some fear that Africa's people will assert their freedom and associate freely with those in the east, west, and south whom they consider fair and relevant.

To reverse free association, some have used persons in Africa as muscle to attack China. Similar tactics will be used to attack places like India, Latin America and other parts of the world.

Why is China attractive? Yes, for various reasons, including low profit mark up and a wide population, prices of China's goods are more affordable. But key reasons for Africa's businesspersons going to China deal with the atmosphere they find in China. While there is variation in behaviour in China, visitors to places like Beijing find that China's people are very friendly. For many from Africa, some folk values, like respect for elders, are similar to China's.

In Beijing, one from Africa can move about at midnight, without fearing attacks. Women move about without fear of being attacked. In general, people are warm and respectful. One does not often encounter attitudes of superiority from those you meet. In China, there is some freedom that a visitor from Africa may not have in other places. In other parts of the world, Africans move feeling insecure. That is no atmosphere for business. When such persons find alternatives, they switch to other places.

In the western world, the recent George Bush and Tony Blair "war on terror." besides causing friction in the human family, has inconvenienced both westerners and visitors. While people from western societies still visit Africa, visitors are finding entering the western world more difficult. Business is done at a distance.

Another reason for China's advancement is the humility and openness of many people. In the material build, Beijing, Shanghai, and other places are far ahead of many places in the western world. But people in China say, "We are not advanced. We are like Africa. We are a developing nation." People in China do not think and act that they are at the top. Thus they still open themselves to learning and advancement. When you think you are at the top and above others, you have reached your ceiling and will be on your way down.

So far, there is no indication that China will politically and economically colonise others. But that is possible if they follow the negative economic dominance values of others. So far when they gave Zambia financial and material assistance, they have not applied economic and political manipulation. When Zambia was being attacked by the racist regimes of southern Africa, China provided assistance without conditionalities.

Japan has for a long time also been a major trade partner and development donor but has not manipulated Zambia's economic and political policies. It is possible to relate to others as brothers and sisters of the family of life. Improvement in trade and human relations will be made by respect and good attitudes.

For centuries, in Africa, some investors set low, inhuman, standards. An advantage with China is that their businesses and investors in Africa are in many places recent and so rules of minimum human standards in trade and production can be established now, as precedent. While some governments get involved when their nationals' profits are threatened but keep quiet on local work conditions, embassies of China get involved when their investor nationals are in business conflicts.

There is need for Africa's people to assert their social and human rights with who ever they do business with, be it Afrikaners on farms, westerners, or persons from China and India, or local investors. Human rights are universal. The current Sino-Africa economic directions provide opportunity for improvement of human relations worldwide. Every moment is an opportunity. Now, this moment is, for persons and groups, a turning point in human relations.