India, China and fortifying the Africa
outreach(The Hindu)
Mains Paper 2:International Relations
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Highlights the major differences in diplomacies between India and
China
Context:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great leveller across the world.
- But its effects stand to be harmful particularly in Africa, where
economic and public health conditions are extremely vulnerable.
- Although African countries moved quickly to curb the initial spread,
they are still woefully(badly) ill-equipped to cope with a public health
emergency.
- Such conditions have meant that Africa’s cycle of external aid
dependence continues.
- Africa needs medical protective equipment and gear to support its
frontline public health workers.
- As Asia’s two largest economies and long-standing partners of Africa,
India and China have increased their outreach to Africa through medical
assistance.
- Their efforts are directed to fill a part of the growing African need at
a time when not many others have stepped in to help.
Beijing’s donation diplomacy:
- China, being Africa’s
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Aims of the donation diplomacy:
- Beijing’s ‘donation diplomacy’ in Africa aims to achieve three immediate
objectives:
- To shift the focus away from talking about the origins of the virus in
Wuhan,
- To build goodwill overseas, and
- To establish an image makeover.
- For the most part, it succeeded in achieving these ends until China
faced widespread backlash over the ill-treatment of African nationals in
Guangzhou city.
- The issue quickly grew into a full-blown political crisis for Beijing.
- But for the most part, China has been successful in controlling the
Guangzhou narrative due to the depth of its political influence in Africa.
- It is no secret that China relies heavily on diplomatic support and
cooperation from African countries on key issues in multilateral forums.
- For example, Beijing used African support for securing a win for Chinese
candidates as the head of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and in the
World Health Organization (WHO).
- On Africa’s part, the problem lies in the deep disjuncture(disconnection)
and credibility gap between Africa’s governing class, the people, the media
and civil society.
- Overall, China’s donation diplomacy towards Africa during COVID-19 has
received mixed reactions, but Beijing’s advantage lies in its economic heft
and political influence in Africa.
Focus areas for India:
- For India, the pandemic presents an opportunity to demonstrate its
willingness and capacity to shoulder more responsibility.
- The fact that even with limited
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Pharmacy of the World:
- India’s role as ‘the pharmacy of the world’, as the supplier of
low-cost, generic medicines is widely acknowledged.
- Pharmaceutical products along with refined petroleum products account
for 40% of India’s total exports to African markets.
- India is sending consignments of essential medicines, including
hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and paracetamol, to 25 African countries.
- In addition it is sending doctors and paramedics.
- The initial beneficiaries were the African Indian Ocean island nations
of Mauritius, the Seychelles, Comoros, and Madagascar under India’s ‘Mission
Sagar’.
- While transportation and logistics remain a concern, most of the
consignments have already reached various African states.
- India launched Mission Sagar on Sunday as part of the government’s
outreach initiative towards five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amidst
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
e-ITEC COVID-19:
- A timely initiative has been the e-ITEC COVID-19 management strategies.
- It is aimed at training health-care professionals from Africa and the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations and sharing
of best practices by Indian health experts.
- Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, and Namibia have been beneficiaries.
- Across Africa, there is a keen interest to understand the developments
and best practices in India because the two share similar socioeconomic and
developmental challenges.
- There is also growing interest in research and development in drugs and
vaccines.
- A few African countries such as Mauritius are pushing for health-care
partnerships in traditional medicines and Ayurveda for boosting immunity.
- The Indian community, especially in East African countries, has also
been playing a crucial role in helping spread awareness.
- Prominent Indian businessmen and companies in Nigeria and Kenya have
donated money to the respective national emergency response funds.
- Country-specific chapters of gurdwaras and temples have fed thousands of
families by setting up community kitchens, helplines for seniors and
distributing disinfectants and sanitisers.
The Contrasts:
- Both India and China, through their respective health and donation
diplomacy, are vying(struggling) to find a space and position for themselves
as reliable partners of Africa in its time of need.
- Burnishing(shining) their credentials as humanitarian champions is the
name of the game. But there are significant differences in the approaches.
For China, three aspects are critical:
- money, political influence and
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Conclusion:
- As these two powers rise in Africa, their two distinct models will come
under even greater scrutiny.
- And both New Delhi and Beijing might find that they need to adapt to the
rising aspirations of the African continent.
