Latest edition: emerging powers news roundup

1. General

Congo’s Inga Hydropower Project May Need Phased Implementation, AFDB Says
Democratic Republic of Congo’s plans to generate 40,000 megawatts by damming the Congo River could be staggered, making it easier to find funding and secure clients, research commissioned by the African Development Bank shows. Congo’s government estimates it needs $22 billion for the Inga power complex, which would harness the power of the world’s second-biggest river by volume after the Amazon. Work on the project, which includes the $5.2 billion, 5,000-megawatt Inga 3 power plant, has stalled due to a lack of money and a firm implementation plan.
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African free trade deal 'will boost Brics accord'
The US$1 trillion agreement to create a free trade bloc of African countries, signed by African leaders over the weekend, would serve as a considerable boost to the Brics accord, said Miller Matola, CEO of the International Marketing Council, on Monday. The International Marketing Council, which markets SA under the Brand SA campaign, said the Brics informal grouping of the emerging-market economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and, most recently, SA, would welcome the prospect of interacting with a combined unit rather than having to deal with the countries in question on an individual basis.
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Clinton pushes US development agenda in Africa
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Africa on Friday to sell the benefits of US economic partnership to a continent where China has built strong aid and investment ties. Clinton arrived in Zambia to begin her five-day trip, which will also take her to Tanzania and Ethiopia to highlight the Obama administration's drive to deepen economic ties with Africa and help it meet challenges ranging from HIV/AIDS to food security.
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"I paid a bribe" – new national pastime
A corruption confession craze is sweeping China, Africa's major trading partner. Thousands of netizens have ‘fessed up on internet sites to bribing traffic officers, judges, officials and company executives. Highlighting how swiftly things move in China, bribery cyber confession rooms have suddenly developed mass appeal over the past week.
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2. China in Africa

Sudanese President, Wanted for War Crimes, Plans China Visit
China has announced that Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir will visit China at the end of this month. The Sudanese leader is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges and on Thursday he canceled a planned visit to Malaysia following protests from human rights groups. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei says Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir will make an official visit to China on June 27. Hong says during his visit, Bashir will meet with President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders.
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Chinese Private Entrepreneurs to Fund 1,000 Hope Primary Schools in Africa
On June 2-6, 2011, the "Chinese Entrepreneurs' Charity Trip to Africa" delegation consisting of more than 30 private entrepreneurs from China, led by Dr. Junqing Lu, chairman of the China-Africa Hope Project and chairman of the World Eminence Chinese Business Association, launched the China-Africa Hope Project in Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda respectively. Construction of the hope primary schools funded by Chinese companies including Tianjiu Scholar-Merchants Group, Insight Holdings Group, Mingda Yihang Group, Fametal Mining, Winnerway, Timeshine, Qunli Coal and Cyber Real Estate officially kicked off.
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Outside chaotic Luanda, Chinese workers build new city
In an open field 30 kilometres (20 miles) south of Angola's chaotic capital, a $3.5-billion city seems to rise from nothing, a showpiece in government's drive to build one million new homes. Dubbed the "new city of Kilamba Kiaxi", it's the antithesis of overcrowded Luanda's traffic-choked streets and is being built - like so much else in Angola - by Chinese contractors.
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China rejects Clinton’s ‘new colonialism’ rantings in Zambia
Chinese analysts have dismissed a statement by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that warned Africa to be wary of “new colonialism” as China expands its ties in the continent, saying that trade and economic cooperation between China and African countries are conducted on the basis of mutual benefit. Clinton said Saturday that “we don’t want to see a new colonialism in Africa,” when asked about China’s growing influence in the continent during a television interview in Lusaka, Zambia.
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U.S. Secretary of State's "new colonialism" remark aims to estrange Sino-African relations: expert
U.S. Secretary of State's remarks to liken China's presence in Africa as "new colonialism" aims to estrange relations between China and African countries, said a leading Chinese expert on African studies Tuesday. The comment made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aims to maximize the U.S. interests in Africa and ensure its interests will not be eroded, said He Wenping, director of the African Studies Office of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
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China offers loans to boost SMEs in Africa
China has signed contracts valued at $220 million with African countries, offering loans from a special fund to support 13 projects of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday. Besides the contracting funds, the China Development Bank (CDB), the undertaker for the special loans, has pledged support for 19 projects with commitment loans totaling $483 million, according to MOC.
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OECD attacks China-Africa trade ‘myths’
Chinese trade and investment with Africa has the potential to benefit the continent’s development and criticism of the growing trend is misplaced, leading development organizations have insisted African governments must increase their bargaining power to make the most of new partnerships with emerging markets from outside Africa by boosting their planning capacity and strengthening their civil service, according to the African Development Bank and the OECD.
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3. India in Africa

Uganda set to get $20 million trade institute
India, one of Asia’s fastest growing economies, plans to establish a Shs48 billion knowledge centre in Kampala to promote international trade in Africa. Mr K.T Chacko, the director Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, revealed the plan at a conference aimed at getting the input of beneficiaries of the India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade (IAIFT) in Kampala on Monday. The institute is designed to provide practical professional education in the field of international business and marketing.
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India’s withdrawal of helicopters from Congo points to wider trend
India is preparing to withdraw its four remaining Mi-35 attack helicopters from the U.N. mission in Congo early next month, ending years of Indian air superiority in the war-racked nation and depriving the United Nations of its most vital military asset as the country heads into a landmark presidential election. The Indian drawdown will deal a blow to the U.N. mission, known by its French abbreviation, MONUSCO, which has depended on Indian troops and aircraft to ensure it can protect civilians and conduct humanitarian operations in a sprawling central African nation the size of Western Europe.
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US lauds India's model of engaging Africa
The US has lauded India's model of encouraging growth in Africa as the two countries gear up to collaborate in the 53-nation continent's agricultural sector. "The India model for encouraging growth in Africa is very impressive," US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said in Washington Thursday. He described as "momentous" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's two-nation trip to Africa that included visits to Ethiopia and Tanzania.
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State Bank of India wants to expand in SA
India’s largest bank, State Bank of India will open a further four branches in South Africa and expand into the retail banking space to take advantage of South African businesses seeking to invest in India. Speaking to the media on Wednesday evening following his visit to South Africa, State Bank of India Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said the bank plans to grow through green fields in SA and is not on the “look-out to acquire” a South African bank.
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4. In Other Emerging Powers News

Trade between Brazil and Portuguese-speaking African countries falls sharply in May
Trade between Brazil and Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) fell sharply in may according to figures published by Brazil’s Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Ministry. In May both Brazilian exports to and imports from Portuguese-speaking African countries fell. Brazilian exports to Angola, Brazil’s main trading partner in Portuguese-speaking Africa fell 15.2 percent to US$69.7 million in May against the previous month.
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Brazil’s economic ties with Africa continue to flourish
Former President Lula da Silva is often attributed with developing the increased economic relationship between Brazil and Africa – forming what is now known as the ‘south-south’ cooperation after visiting 27 of the 53 countries in 2003. It was this extensive trip that initiated the creation and expansion of a number of Brazilian consulates as well as other ties that were viewed as important.
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African Development Bank signs deal with China and Brazil
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has signed two major cooperation agreements with China and Brazil for the funding of projects and programs in its regional member countries (RMCs), according to a statement from the Bank. The signing took place in Lisbon, Portugal on June 8, 2011 during AfDB’s 2011 Annual Meetings.
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India, Japan discuss political, economic engagements with Africa
India and Japan held wide ranging discussions regarding their respective political and economic engagements with Africa; the current security and political situation in various parts of Africa; and issues emanating from Africa with regional and global bearing during the two-day 'Second India-Japan Dialogue on Africa', which was held here. The two sides extensively shared their views and experiences with regard to the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).
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Russia joins China’s fight for Zim diamond control
Russia is set to join China in controlling diamond mining in Zimbabwe, with the Federation’s state diamond group seeking a license to mine at the controversial Chiadzwa fields. The Russian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Andrey Kushakov, said recently that his country has pledged to invest in mining and infrastructure development in Zimbabwe as a way of supporting the country. According to the Times of India news service, Andrey stated that Russia's state diamond group, Gokhran, will be investing.
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5. Blogs, Opinions, Presentations and Publications

China & Africa: Law of the land
Africa looks poised to gain the upper hand in its negotiations over the investment and trade deals with China that are so central to the continent’s growth model China has invested tens of billions of dollars across the continent, vastly improving the trade and transport infrastructure in many African states, in return for commodity exports that have provided a timely and important trade boost that allowed Africa to emerge from the global financial downturn relatively unscathed. But signs are emerging that the balance of China’s trade and investment relationship with Africa may be slowly shifting more in Africa’s favour.
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Russian foreign policy: double headed eagle
Russia's foreign policy arena is starting to look like a battlefield of its own as the country's top officials give seemingly conflicting signals about where Moscow stands amid the upheaval sweeping the Arab world, experts say. As unrest in the region continues to produce stunning political shifts, Russian leaders have been working to forge responses that are both relevant to peoples in the Middle East and also serve Moscow's larger strategic goals in the region.
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India gives
The recent India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at which India’s government pledged $5 billion in aid to African countries, drew attention to a largely overlooked phenomenon — India’s emergence as a source, rather than a recipient, of foreign aid. For decades after independence — when Britain left the subcontinent one of the poorest and most ravaged regions on earth, with an effective growth rate of 0 percent over the preceding two centuries — India was seen as an impoverished land of destitute people, desperately in need of international handouts.
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China rapidly becoming Mozambique’s main partner
China is rapidly affirming its place as the main foreign power in Mozambique, replacing other traditional political and economic partners base on growing foreign trade, investment and cooperation, according to researcher Loro Horta. “At a time when the West is facing an economic crisis, China and other emerging economies are becoming crucial to the wellbeing of several African nations.
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