Letters | Chinese influence in Africa can help turn Europe into a better partner
- China’s developmental approach offers an alternative to Western policies towards Africa that have failed for decades
- Europe can still be an important player in Africa, but it must treat African countries as equals

That dependency has been accompanied by decades-long economic malaise, political instability and high corruption. Western governments and international organisations have delivered a set of structural reforms to Africa in the form of aid policies in exchange for pro-market reforms, political liberalisation and openness to Western markets and products.
China’s economic growth in recent decades marked the development of transformative and closer trade relations between China and Africa in the 21st century. The two share the same opinion on the Western-led campaign for human rights and structural reforms. China and most of Africa regard economic development as a priority over concerns such as individual rights and liberalisation.
African countries have viewed the rapid economic development of China as an example and a reliable alternative to the political system and economic structure that Western powers have pressured Africa to adopt. Africa needs to rely on a regional power and a major manufacturing economy to provide economic support for its development.