西方低估中國在非洲的軟實力

Maxwell Zeken is a 16-year-old Liberian who lives in rural Nimba County. Asked where he dreams of studying, he says: “I want to study engineering in China and come back to Liberia to build our roads and our cities. They say you must visit the Great Wall of China. I regret that my country didn’t build something like that.”

16歲的利比里亞少年麥克斯韋?澤肯(Maxwell Zeken)住在年巴縣(Nimba County)鄉下。當被問到渴望到哪裏學習時，他說：“我想到中國學習工程技術，然後回國建設我們的道路和城市。他們說一定要參觀中國的長城(Great Wall)。很遺憾，我們國家沒有那樣的建築。”

Western governments like to imagine that they have all the soft power in Africa. After all — if you put aside 100 years or so of colonial predation — for decades they have been providing emergency relief and supporting health, education and transparent institutions. What’s more, they are democracies, with systems worth emulating.

西方國家的政府總愛想象只有他們在非洲擁有軟實力。畢竟，如果拋開100年左右的殖民掠奪不談，幾十年來他們一直在爲非洲提供緊急救助，並支持醫療、教育和透明機構。更重要的是，他們是民主國家，擁有值得效仿的制度。

China, so this narrative goes, elicits no such goodwill. It has only ratcheted up its presence in Africa for what anyone can see is a naked grab for resources and influence. Sure, China has built roads, railways, sports stadiums and airports across Africa. But, according to this mostly self-delusory narrative, such projects are of shoddy quality and alienate Africans because they employ mainly Chinese workers.

按照西方這種敘事的邏輯，中國絲毫沒有拿出類似的善意。中國加強在非洲的存在只是爲了赤裸裸地掠奪資源和獲取影響力——這一點所有人都看得出。當然，中國在非洲各地修建了公路、鐵路、體育場館和機場。但是，根據這種多半是自欺欺人的敘事，這些項目質量低劣，而且還疏遠了非洲人，因爲工程僱用的大都是中國工人。

The problem with this version of events is that — if it was ever valid — it is woefully out of date. Certainly, you don’t have to go far in Africa to hear complaints against China, which is blamed for everything from enriching dictators to wiping out local manufacturing and entrapping governments in a new cycle of debt. Another, more powerful, story is taking hold, however, that sees China as a mostly positive actor with a record — unlike the west — of getting things done.

這種敘事的問題是，如果說它曾經站得住腳的話，那麼它也已經嚴重過時了。當然，你不必遠赴非洲就能聽到對中國的種種抱怨，所有問題都可以推到中國身上——從資助獨裁者到摧毀當地的製造業、誘使各國政府陷入新一輪債務循環。然而，另一種更有說服力的敘事正逐漸流行，這種觀點把中國視爲一個能辦實事（不同於西方）、大體上正面的參與者。

Philibert Browne, editor of Liberia’s Hot Pepper newspaper, says China is winning admiration. In Liberia, it has built roads — ones of not obviously inferior quality — and a spanking new campus at the University of Liberia, replete with friendship tower and Chinese-style gate.

利比里亞報紙《辣椒》(Hot Pepper)的總編輯菲利伯特?布朗(Philibert Browne)說，中國正在贏得敬佩。在利比里亞，中國修建了公路（質量看不出有多差），爲利比里亞大學(University of Liberia)建設了嶄新的校園，點綴以友誼塔和中式大門。

“You can see what they are spending their money on but you can’t see what the Americans are spending on,” Mr Browne says. “You don’t put capacity building on your meal table. Slowly but surely, the Chinese are winning in Africa.”

“你能看到他們把錢花在哪裏，但你看不到美國人把錢花在哪裏，”布朗說，“你（美國）不把能力用在解決吃飯問題上。雖然進展緩慢，但中國人正穩紮穩打地在非洲取得節節勝利。”

In Kenya, where a state-owned Chinese company is about to complete a $4bn railway from the Indian Ocean to Nairobi, you hear similar things. The line, which will eventually extend to Uganda and possibly Rwanda, has been criticised for costing too much. But many ordinary Kenyans appreciate a project that has been built on schedule, looks modern and will cut freight and passenger time.

在肯尼亞，你會聽到類似的事。一家中國國企在肯尼亞修建的從印度洋到內羅畢的總值40億美元的鐵路即將竣工。這條最終將延伸至烏干達、甚至可能到盧旺達的鐵路線，被詬病造價太高。但很多肯尼亞老百姓讚賞這樣一個按時間表修建、看起來很現代、並將縮短貨運和客運時間的項目。

This is anecdotal evidence to be sure. Yet according to a policy brief by the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, China’s more visible engagement is reflected in ballooning trade and investment.

這的確只是坊間證據。不過據約翰?霍普金斯大學(Johns Hopkins University)的“中非研究倡議”(China-Africa Research Initiative)所做的一項政策簡報，中國在非洲更能讓人看見的參與反映在了不斷膨脹的貿易和投資上。

One figure leaps out. From 2000 to 2015, China Eximbank made $63bn of loans to Africa while the US Eximbank made $1.7bn. China Eximbank contributed to almost all 54 African countries, while US Eximbank contributed to five.

一項數據引起注意。從2000年到2015年，中國進出口銀行(China ExIm Bank)向非洲發放貸款630億美元，而美國進出口銀行(US ExIm Bank)向非洲發放的貸款爲17億美元。中國進出口銀行幾乎爲非洲54個國家都提供了融資，而美國進出口銀行只向5個國家發放了貸款。

Money and concrete do not guarantee a good reputation. In Ghana, Chinese citizens have been accused of running roughshod over local mining laws. In Zambia, where as many as 100,000 Chinese people live, local politicians accuse Beijing of flouting immigration laws by bringing in unskilled labour.

金錢和混凝土並不能保證良好的聲譽。在加納，中國公民被指責踐踏了當地的採礦法。在贊比亞——多達10萬中國人生活在這裏——當地政客指責中國無視移民法，向贊比亞輸出不具備技能的勞動力。

It is important to note that China has several actors, of varying proximity to the state, across the continent. Drawing a unifying picture or discerning a clear China Inc strategy is not always easy.

值得注意的是，中國在非洲大陸有多個行爲主體，他們與當地政府的關係有遠有近。無論是勾勒一幅統一的形象，還是辨認中國企業的清晰戰略，都不是容易的事。

Still, you do not need to drink the Beijing Cool Aid to see that China’s image is better than many westerners care to believe. Certainly, no country can engage with a continent on so prodigious a scale without ruffling some feathers and making some enemies. China is making friends too.

不過，無需親身體驗你也可以看出，中國在非洲的形象比許多西方人願意相信的要好。當然，哪個國家能與一個大洲如此密切往來而不惹來一些不滿、樹立些許敵人呢？中國也在交朋友。