| In recent decades,the African continent in general,and the Republic of Congo in particular,has strengthened its economic cooperation ties with emerging countries,including the People's Republic of China.The latter has increased its financing and foreign direct investment in Africa since its policy of openness launched in the 1980 s by Deng Xiaoping.The African continent,rich in natural resources,has known nothing but misery and desolation because of the illegal exploitation of its resources by its former colonizers,condemning it to chronic underdevelopment.The end of the Cold War at the end of the 1990 s and the economic emergence of China enabled many African countries to redefine their policy of economic cooperation with the rest of the world.Thus,without a colonial past in Africa and after several efforts for its selfdetermination in the emergence of its economy on the international scene and with a singular and successful experience for development,China has become a strategic economic partner in Africa,better a model for many African countries to follow.The Republic of Congo,a country of 342,000 square kilometers with oil-rich subsoil and substantial forest resources,has experienced relatively low economic development since its independence in 1960.On 22 February 1964,the Republic of Congo established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and developed economic,financial and educational cooperation.Until 2000,economic cooperation between China and the Congo was very modest,despite some Chinese achievements in the Congo in the areas of infrastructure,trade,health and education under an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement,signed on 2 October 1964 in Beijing and supplemented by the Agreement establishing the Great Joint Cooperation Commission,signed on 27 May 1982 in Beijing.It was in 2000,the year of the creation of the Forum on Sino-African Cooperation,that China and the Congo signed the Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Chinese Investments in the Congo,which enabled a growing number of Chinese companies to come and invest massively in the Congolese economy,particularly in the key sectors of infrastructure,oil resources and energy.Thus,this study answers the main question,namely: How does Chinese foreign direct investment affect development issues in Congo?To answer the question,it has been shown that in less than two decades,Chinese FDI in the Congo has grown exponentially from a few hundred million to several billion dollars,which has had a positive impact on the Congo's development,making China the Congo's leading economic partner ahead of France and the United States of America,the traditional partners.This positive impact has had a corollary,the diversification of the economy,the emergence of an industrial sector and very encouraging social spin-offs,particularly in the areas of infrastructure,energy and hydraulics and health and education.Moreover,Chinese FDI in the Congolese economy is based on an approach characterized by political equality and mutual trust,win-win cooperation in the economic field,exchanges and mutual inspiration in the cultural field,thus opening new horizons for fruitful cooperation.Therefore,the importance of this study is to demonstrate how China presents itself as an alternative to traditional partners to help Congo in its quest to become an "emerging country".The Congo hopes to make its dream come true with the help and collaboration of China within the framework of economic cooperation based on a new type of strategic partnership of equals,a cooperation in which the Congo offers natural resources to China in exchange for its investments and which will contribute to the process of sub-regional integration,with the construction of communication infrastructures,and eventually the acceleration of its integration at the regional level.This dynamic of the emergence of the Congo has today become an obsession for the public authorities and still holds the upper hand both nationally and internationally.It is understandable that the Congo is counting on this economic cooperation with China to achieve this noble goal for the well-being of its people.In order to carry out this study properly,we relied on the Internet and the data collection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Congo on China's foreign direct investment in Africa in general and in the Republic of the Congo in particular.And the search for written documents,particularly those in the field of social or specialized sciences,general books,magazines,scientific articles,speeches by officials of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Congo,conferences or press notes,seminars,reports,official documents of various public services of the Congo.The purpose of this research work is therefore to analyze Sino-Congolese economic cooperation in relation to Chinese investments mainly in the areas listedabove.Regarding the structure of the thesis,we have divided our research work into five chapters: a first chapter is devoted to the introduction which explains the context of the Sino-Congolese economic cooperation from its creation to the present day while relying on the historical changes that this cooperation has undergone.The second chapter presents the different frameworks of economic cooperation between the two countries by presenting the different achievements made by Chinese companies in Congo over the last two decades.The third and fourth chapters constitute the core of our study as they answer both the main and subsidiary questions of this research work,principally,the economic and social impacts for the development of the Congo in its quest for emergence.And the final chapter is chapter five,the conclusion,which shows my personal view that in recent years,the government has made investment in infrastructure development a priority.While these investments have helped to ensure the rate of economic growth,it has been noted that other important sectors have been under-invested,including agriculture,health and education.In the coming years,the country can continue to diversify its economy,with the help of Chinese FDI,through an expansion of its economy in the agricultural sector,which has significant untapped potential.In short,our research builds on early scientific research on the empirical determinants of Chinese FDI in Africa.By studying the impact of Chinese FDI on the development of the Congo for more than 10 years,our research work has the particularity of analyzing the subject in question with recent data that highlight their contribution to the fight against poverty and lead the Congo towards a true process of sustainable development. |
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