China, the newest and large importer of primarily African commodities, is neither villain nor saviour for the African economies. This was the consensus at the conference entitled “Digging for Peace: Private Companies and Emerging Economies in Zones of Conflict,” which took place in Bonn the 21st and 22nd of November. Participants at the conference, which was organized by the international campaign Fatal Transaction and the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC), underlined the need for “de-demonizing” China and taking a more nuanced view of Chinese activities and players in Africa. However, China has not yet played an active role in stabilizing or promoting peace in Africa. China’s policy of non-interference is the main factor hindering such an engagement from occurring. A case in point is the close link between oil imports from the Sudanese, on the one hand, and Chinese weapon exporters to that country, on the other hand. However, it was emphasized that China has offered to build infrastructure in exchange for mining licenses, which are currently very attractive for many African governments. The sustainability and the social and environmental soundness of such agreements, however, are questionable.



The conference participants also questioned compliance with social and environmental standards by companies in the extractive industry, irrespective of whether they are from the West or Far East. Progress has fallen short of expectations and is – at best – discernible among companies with a global presence. The discussion on the role of international companies in conflict areas once again highlighted their social and environmental responsibility. However, there was insufficient debate on how to achieve this goal, especially with regard to possible sanctions when companies do not act responsibly. Pointing to the role of African states, there were numerous references to the duty of governments to utilize their natural resource wealth for the welfare of their citizens. The discussion, however, tended to gloss over the fact that countries with fragile state structures have often limited options for state action. Yet, the discussion failed to cover how these specific circumstances could be politically addressed. (Meike Westerkamp)

Further information on the conference is available at http://www.bicc.de/events/resource_conference/content.php

Further information on the "Fatal Transaction" campaign can be accessed at http://www.fataltransactions.org/ 

Published in:ECC-Newsletter, December 2008