U.S.-Chinese relations with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries: How it can make a difference

Economic collaboration by the United States and China with specific African countries can have a valuable impact on the people living there. Africa is home to enormous amounts of untapped economic potential such as natural resources and labor capacity. The United States and China are increasingly involved in Africa for its natural resources, potential trade markets, security concerns, and global health considerations. Meanwhile, African nations face numerous challenges due to political instability, bad economic policies, conflict, and corrupt governance. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a good reflection of complex problems found in Africa (e.g., conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis). The United States and China are the two external actors that can promote the necessary and drastic transformation to make these countries more productive. U.S.-Chinese economic cooperation focused on Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo has the potential to serve both United States' and Chinese interests while at the same time reliably benefiting these African nations and their people.This thesis examines U.S. and Chinese foreign policy with respect to Africa and overall African objectives to determine areas of economic cooperation. It is possible for the United States and China to cooperate in the areas of infrastructure development and investment, trade, labor development, and energy and natural resource improvement. The United States and China have completed complementary projects throughout southern Africa and synchronization of these types of projects would more effectively enhance economic development. Cooperation in these economic areas will allow both the United States and China to benefit from foreign assistance as well as these African nations.In Angola, cooperation in these areas is possible with an emphasis by the U.S. and Chinese governments. In order to accomplish this, the Angolan government can sponsor, and lead, a joint committee of U.S., Chinese, and Angolan partners with the specific goal of coordinating activities related to infrastructure development and investment, trade, labor development, and energy and natural resource improvement.In the Democratic Republic of Congo, cooperation in these economic areas will require significant effort from the United States, China, and other international bodies, such as the United Nations and African Development Bank. The DRC government, due to corruption and inefficiency, is not capable of accomplishing this type of coordination on its own. The United States and China can play a critical role in assisting the Congo to emerge from decades of civil war and conflict and bring stability to the region.Coordinating and synchronizing U.S. and Chinese efforts in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo will maximize economic benefits as well as demonstrate to the global community that these two powerful nations can work together. Economic cooperation efforts in Africa can lead to partnerships in more sensitive sectors such as diplomacy and security.