Geldof blames China for abetting rights abuses in Zimbabwe

By Lance Guma
03 October 2007

Irish rocker and anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof says China is behaving irresponsibly in its trade relations with Africa and that it was pursuing money without regard to the political stability or welfare of the countries its doing business with. During a corporate aid event in Finland Geldof urged the Chinese as a new superpower to adhere to international trade standards. He said the Chinese, ‘are everywhere’ and invest huge amounts of money on the continent. This he says is not always positive for some countries especially those plagued by political instability.

For Geldof the problem is that the Chinese are actually helping to worsen the situation in countries like Zimbabwe and Sudan, which are bedeviled by political problems. ‘The Chinese want the oil, they don't want anything interfering with the Khartoum government, so they give free guns to the Sudanese army," he pointed out.’ He said they were only interested in doing what was convenient for them while the rest of the world fights over how to solve the Darfur crisis.

The Live 8 founder said Sudan was providing 6 percent of Chinese oil and this figure was 60 percent of the African country’s oil production. He drew similar comparisons with Zimbabwe saying money and resources motivated the Chinese relationship with Mugabe. Bulawayo Agenda Chairman Gorden Moyo echoed similar remarks adding that the Chinese were clearly exploiting Zimbabwe’s mineral resources to the detriment of the country. Mugabe’s regime meanwhile benefits from the supply of military hardware that helps them to suppress any discontent and consolidate power.

Reports say the Chinese have invested over US$16,4 billion in Africa alone in the first 6 months of 2007. The figure represents a 49 percent increase from the previous year and makes China, Africa’s third largest trading partner.