The Relationship Between China And Ecowas

Historically, economic and trade relations in pre and post ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) establishment have been conducted along the historical divide of Anglophone and Francophone countries as well as their historical attachments with the colonial powers in Europe. Compare to the other sub regions in Africa, ECOWAS region was less known or impacted by the Chinese. Most of the other sub regions were known to China as early as the tenth to sixth centuries BC this was due to history and ideology. China’s interest on ECOWAS however, was aroused when it was discovered that the Gulf of Guinea contained one of the most significant oil reserves in the world, accounting for more than7%. Prominent in the ECOWAS region with oil reserves are Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, and Ghana. However, ECOWAS Region opened its doors to countries that would impact the region especially economically as the region is in dearth need of infrastructure and economic growth to fast track its development.Due to the nature of China’s foreign policy toward the Continent of Africa, China endeared itself to most African countries and indeed the ECOWAS Region. ECOWAS and China started their business forum in2008. Evidence shows that China-ECOWAS relations is inspired along these aspirations of infrastructural development, and human capacity building. Through interdependency theory, China as a rising World Power in the twenty first century rely on Africa for its industrialization, modernization and for the sustainability of its development which hangs on many resources which ECOWAS can supply. ECOWAS on the other hand needs infrastructural development and technological capacity which China can provide. Chinese is paying off now in oil and raw material imports and markets for manufactured goods while ECOWAS get technical know-how, economic ideas, massive constructions of roads, dams, and many others.The ECOWAS Region operates as one of the recognized sub-regions of AU. On the platform of multilateral approach as poised Kahler and Keohane, ECOWAS has benefited from China through institution like FOCAC. The emergence of China in ECOWAS development arena complicated the tussle between the EU and the US as to who controls the ECOWAS region and this created space for the leaders of ECOWAS to look for an alternative development partner (China) in the21st Century. China embarked on strategic realignment of itself with the AU through the sub regional groupings and established new areas of cooperation. China in2006, in a historical meeting between Chinese and African leaders (ECOWAS inclusive) entered into a strategic partnership for the control of Africa’s huge resources; and industrial, infrastructures and economic development. This created a trilateral strategic rivalry (US, EU, and China) which drew sharp reactions from Western Leaders.After an in-depth examination of China’s engagement in ECOWAS, both Europe and America have re-considered their own relationship with that of Africa continent at large. Like most partnership, ECOWAS and China has been constrained by Western propaganda, cultural and ideological differences. ECOWAS over-reliance on other nations has not helped the region to develop its model and strategies of development like China did on its own. The ECOWAS region has become a competition ground for China, Europe and US with different approaches and strategies for continuous relations. Against the conventional wisdom and believe that Chinese involvement on the ECOWAS region cannot transform region’s economy for the better so as to end much of the poverty and also to spark high speed growth, China is already in the process of transforming the ECOWAS region. In dealing with the Chinese presences on the ECOWAS region, the Chinese government and its Multi-National Companies (MNCs) are working hard to give a good image of China as a newcomer to the ECOWAS people.China’s grand strategies in ECOWAS are both bilateral and multilateral with focus on resource acquisition, economic, diplomatic, and political cooperation.By in-depth search, Critics of China are concerned on how China, a second superpower, will pose a potential global danger to democracy and encourage corruption by its’no string attached’policy to ECOWAS.This researched discovered that through FOCAC, ECOWAS has benefited from China. The policymakers in the ECOWAS region are persuaded to implement deeper economic cooperation, increase in investment and trade, resulting from deeper economic integration in the ECOWAS region. Convinced that FOCAC has become an important platform for collective dialogue and effective mechanism for pragmatic cooperation between China and Africa, both sides decided to vigorously carry out follow-up actions, actively explore ways to strengthen the building of a follow-up mechanism and enhance communication and cooperation within the framework of FOCAC.The most important explanation for global attention on ECOWAS region is perhaps an awareness of the supply of resources (both human and natural resources).