"A comparison of Chinese and Western firms in Africa would find that many on both sides have oppressive conditions, but Western firms garner much higher profits. In contrast to Western investments, many Chinese enterprises are equity joint ventures, sharing profits with Africans. Most produce for the local market and focus more on infrastructure and manufacturing than do Western companies."

A well written article with statistical data to support their claims.

Historical evidence shows that Western capitalism has a poor record on human rights from forcing opium onto the Chinese and the recent swindling of world governments and the middle (and working) class by the Anglo-American bankers.

What we need to do now is charge Bush, Blair and Howard for war crimes and hang them like they did Saddam Huessien. The act of war was sponsored by the Western capitalists cartel.

Next, Amercians need to charge Obama for fraud (he has refused to show proof that he is a natural-born USA citizen). Then they have to deal with the filthy corrupt bankers and their partners-in-crime from Wall Street (Federal Reserve, Goldman Sachs, etc.).

Indeed a good article, countering the more common anti-China stance of most economic analyses.

The article reinforces the truism that Western economic competition with a rising China is at the root of much of the distrust. Australia is a special case that is not in competition with China.

Pete

This isn't very convincing. It deals with the issues in a very cursory way. The article makes no mention of China's dealings with Zimbabwe or Sudan.

Philip Tang,I agree.The Oligarchs in the West thought that China would succombe to their perverted,parasitic monetary system.China is not only the manufacturing centre of the planet but now is advancing technologically and will soon surpass the USA.This is why the US is sabre rattling and trying to subdue them.

China has economic projects happening with Russia,exchanging energy reources and ideas.The West is stuck in the baron land of seeking power without creativity and freedom.

It was freedom of the spirit and mind which made the West great,now we are introverted by over regulation and the perversion of power lust.

I'll take US democracy any day over China authoritarian leadership.

Also, what an insane thing to say about Obama.

No doubt you would, Lucy Montgomery.

>>I'll take US democracy any day over China authoritarian leadership.<<

No doubt we all would. But it is hardly relevant to the discussion.

It is a characteristic of us "westerners" to blithely talk of democracy as if it is an end in itself. As if it can suddenly solve, at a stroke, the ills and faults that we perceive in non-democracies.

It doesn't. And it cannot. Especially when you take the word out of its cocoon of theory into the broad daylight of practicality.

Think for a moment how representative is our own "representative democracy". From the cloak-and-dagger pre-selection process to the compulsory voting, it is riddled with undemocratic practices.

And we only have 22,154,761 people to worry about (as at 12.55 Sydney time).

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/dc057c1016e548b4ca256c470025ff88/1647509ef7e25faaca2568a900154b63!OpenDocument

China has 1,319,175,353 (as at 12.57 Sydney time)

http://www.chinability.com/China%20population%20clock.htm

Try to imagine a system that does not involve a centralized, command-and-control mechanism, but instead enfranchises every Chinese adult, on an equal basis.

I'm afraid it will be many years before such a system will even begin to be recognizable in China. The existing version of government has been entirely appropriate to the needs of the country for twenty-plus years. And still has a way to go, in my view.

It will change, of course. The pressures that are created by the existing system will, over time, bring incremental advances.

But in and of itself, democracy is not an answer. Just another question.