Randall Smith of the Daily Nation Kenya writes one of the best op-eds on China-Africa relations in the light of President Kibaki’s attempt to get a long series of projects financed by the Chinese state:
Whether it’s China, the United States or the Saudi oil sheiks, the cost of a long Christmas gift list is worth pondering when the leader of a developing country goes courting one of the world’s most powerful nations. There’s an image of America, China and other places that’s not real in many African minds.
Very simply, the streets in America and China are not paved with gold, and life is much harder than television paints it. [...] Be careful about the bill that will come due. It may be a whopper.
