All's fair in trade and war

Ar | Africa’s fastest-growing trade partner is a zealous—if not scrupulous—China | Priya Abraham

Walter Kansteiner has a story about the enterprising spirit of Chinese businessmen in Africa. The former U.S. diplomat and expert on African markets helped an American company buy a potential copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Within two days, he said, a Chinese metal trader called him about signing an agreement to purchase the copper.

"I had to explain there's no mine—it is probably five to seven years away from initial production," Kansteiner said. Not to worry, the trader replied, "We can start talking now."

Kansteiner's story, which he told at a Nov. 1 panel discussion at the American Enterprise Institute, shows how China hungers after raw materials to power its ever-expanding economy. Africa has become a valuable continent in that regard, with its copper, cobalt, iron ore, and timber, and is also a market for cheap Chinese goods.