China has made outstanding economic commitments to Africa since the middle of last century, and it is "quite irresponsible" to label China as a threat to the continent, a scholar has said.

China's rapid economic growth and its economic aid and cooperation in Africa have attracted much attention across the world, and it is unacceptable for Henning Melber, from the Nordic Africa Institute, to call China a "Yellow Threat" in Africa and other parts of the world at a forum held in Windhoek on Aug. 15, said Yang Ganfu, a Chinese scholar doing an inter-cultural research in Namibia.

In his article that was published on the newspaper The Namibian, Yang raised a few questions for Melber to answer: Has China ever threatened the lives of African people? Has China ever killed thousands and thousands of Africans and thrown them into sea and bushes? Will you also employ the term "Red Threat" or "White Threat" for the colonial period in Africa?

In his article, Yang also said "it is quite understandable that Dr. Melber and his supporters complain a lot about Chinese construction and Chinese shops in Namibia if they are blind to the realities."

Yang, who has been involved in construction area in Namibia for more than four years, said that the Chinese are the lowest construction bidders in the country with speedy and quality work. He requested Melber to go to the Namibian Ministry of Works to find out how much Chinese construction has saved for the Namibian government.

Most of the Chinese shops in Namibia are doing wholesale business with Angola and local dealers, which benefits Namibians in terms of employment, tax, improving infrastructure like that in Oshikango, a northern Namibian city that has developed rapidly in recent years with a booming trade with Angola, according to Yang.

Yang requested Melber and his followers to go to the Social Security Commission of Namibia to find out how many Namibians have been employed by the Chinese shops, not to mention thousands of local workers being employed by Chinese construction companies.

Melber denied that he had qualified China as a threat to Africa in his response that was also published on The Namibian. However, he said, "the Chinese expansion into Africa is part of a new scramble for securing and exploiting natural as well as human resources on the continent."

Melber admitted "China's engagement in Namibia should not be in the first place dismissed as a threat without looking into the possible gains."

Local observers paid much attention to the debate between Yang Ganfu and Henning Melber. Robin Sherbourne, business and economics editor with Namibian monthly Insight, told Xinhua "It is good to see such debates. Debate will let people know clearly about what the Chinese are doing in Africa."

Sherbourne said that he saw "Yellow Threat" as a racist term and China can do more to respond to such attacks.

Other observers told Xinhua that they would like to see how the debate would go on while dismissing the idea of "Yellow Threat."

Source: Xinhua