[The Epoch Times, December 21, 2022](Epoch Times reporter Wang Yixiao reports from Germany) The German government is formulating a new African strategy to replace the previous “African Marshall Plan”. An important goal of the new strategy is to strengthen the development and cooperation between Germany and Africa, especially in terms of energy, raw materials and new sales markets, and emphasizes countering the influence of the CCP in Africa. The plan will be formally presented at the end of January.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a speech in late November that “the world of the 21st century will not be a world of one or two powerful centers of power.” Instead, he foresees a global multipolarity order. He emphasized the importance of Africa, acknowledging that “other countries have long recognized its importance and are using it in their own way”.
According to the German “Handelsblatt” report, the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Schulz (Svenja Schulze) is organizing the drafting of a new African strategic plan. Through the plan, Germany hopes to develop its competitiveness in Africa to counter the influence of the Chinese Communist Party. For example, China has repeatedly used its influence to get African countries to vote for it at the United Nations.
Germany stresses ‘win-win’ cooperation with Africa
In addition to China and Russia, the new strategy also lists Turkey and the Gulf states as competitors on the continent. “They are building infrastructure in Africa, fighting for raw materials, markets and political influence,” the document states. According to information provided to ministries and parliamentarians by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany’s strong partnership with Africa is “solidarity and responsibility.” “The result is also the realization of the “self-interest” of both parties, such as in the field of skilled labor, energy transition and supply chain diversification.
Tobias Heidland, head of the International Development Research Center at the Kiel Institute for World Economic Research, said the strategy would ensure that African countries understand where Germany is the most attractive partner in order to work more closely with Germany. .
This will allow Germany to better showcase its strengths to China, Russia and others. Headland cites among these strengths Germany’s industry and small and medium-sized enterprises, which can contribute a lot to development by shifting production to Africa.
The tone of cooperation between Germany and Africa is “win-win”, for example in the field of renewable energy. Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs wants to promote green hydrogen production in Africa and “the development of a local hydrogen economy”.
On the one hand, this should benefit the local population, and on the other hand, it should also contribute to the German government’s national hydrogen strategy. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is already cooperating in this field with Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa and Algeria, and a partnership with Kenya is in the works.
In early December, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck’s visit to Southern Africa showed the importance of green energy carriers. The former German colony of Namibia is considered a potential new supplier of wind and solar power. Germany wants to provide 30 million euros for local pilot projects. During the visit, Habaek warned against “energy imperialism”. He stressed that joint cooperation must first benefit the people of Namibia.
In terms of mineral raw materials such as cobalt, Germany hopes to work hard to improve the “transparency” of the supply chain. For example, the supply chain for cobalt, which is currently of enormous importance to the electrical industry, is determined by Chinese companies. In 2019, the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) reported flagrant human rights violations in Congolese mining areas.
Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development wants to work to ensure that mineral raw materials “can be extracted and processed throughout the supply chain in compliance with human rights, social and environmental standards”.
Germany to help Africa with ‘debt management’
Many African countries also share ties with China on credit issues. Some countries, such as Angola and Cameroon, have significant debts to Chinese state-owned banks. This debt burden is holding back “desperately needed investment”, a problem that Germany’s Federal Economy Ministry has warned could intensify amid a global interest rate turnaround.
Therefore, Germany wants to help Africa with “debt management”. According to information from Handelsblatt, the German government is considering reforming the debt-swap instrument, whereby these African countries promise Germany to finance their own development projects and receive at least the same amount of debt relief in return.
German funds can also flow directly. In principle, liquidity could be provided to partner countries through budgetary support, ie direct payments to these countries, which would make it easier for partner countries to repay their debts. “This should always be done in cooperation with our partners, especially international financing institutions,” the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation said.
Germany’s previous “Marshall Plan for Africa” focused primarily on mobilizing private investment. In the new strategy, the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development promised to develop “innovative financing instruments”. For example, the use of funds from the federal budget as a guarantee reduces the risk of investing in African companies. Efforts to mobilize German capital have so far been largely unsuccessful, however, with only about 1% of German outbound investment currently going to Africa.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation hopes to make a major shift in strategy also when it comes to immigration. In the future, the focus will be on opportunities to support legal migration “because we recognize the needs of the countries and also here in Germany”, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development said. To this end, the advisory centers in the African partner countries will be developed into “Migration and Development” centers whose focus will be on promoting “regular labor migration to Germany and Europe”.
The United States also announced a new strategic policy for Africa in August this year, emphasizing the response to threats from China and Russia. The new U.S. strategy states that Africa needs billions of dollars a year for roads, railways, dams and electricity. Over the past decade, Africa has received huge sums of money from China’s “Belt and Road” project. When the CCP spends money, it usually does not consider the rights of the other party, and lacks the necessary transparency.
The U.S. government views China’s lending as predatory, leading to potential debt traps in the borrowing countries, and has focused on promoting private investment. U.S. officials acknowledge that more needs to be done to speed up aid to Africa.
Editor in charge: Yu Ping