China, Mozambique need to build on past successes for future bilateral gains

There is a strong historical perspective to China's ties with Mozambique, and it is worthwhile to note that ties between the two sides have gone from strength to strength over the years.

Diplomatic relations between China and Mozambique were formally established in 1975 after the southern African nation won independence from Portugal. In November 2006, Mozambique became the 13th African country to be added to China's official list of tourism destinations.

Goodwill and mutual understanding have always been the pillars of China's bilateral ties with Mozambique. This view was further reinforced during my two visits to the southern African nation.

In 2000, I was part of a delegation sent by the Ministry of Education to four African countries, including Mozambique, to assess China-Africa educational cooperation. The visit was fruitful as there was thorough exchange of ideas on educational cooperation and we learned a lot from our counterparts in Mozambique, Madagascar, Zambia and Uganda.

Last month I was in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to attend the "The Voice of China in Africa" conference organized by the Institute of Social and Economic Studies of Mozambique and the Chri Michael Institute of Norway. The meeting saw participants from Mozambique, Uganda, South Africa, Norway and China offering various perspectives and insights on the subject.

My own impression of Mozambique also changed drastically this time around. As well as economic progress, Mozambique has also made impressive strides in terms of infrastructure creation. New buildings, wide roads and impressive shops are now commonplace in Maputo.

On my flight back to China, I also met several Chinese people who had been working in Mozambique. A 23-year-old named Bie from Henan told me his fascinating success story of collecting seafood in Mozambique and then selling it in Hong Kong.

The middle-aged Chen from Anhui, a key member of Wanbao Group, a Chinese agricultural enterprise engaged in rice production in Mozambique, talked about the contributions he and his family made in introducing modern agricultural techniques.

There is no doubt that bilateral ties have been developing rapidly between China and Mozambique. Political relations are also on the right track with frequent high-level contacts between the leaders of the two sides.

From an economic perspective, the main areas of cooperation between China and Mozambique are trade, infrastructure, oil, training and agriculture. In terms of trade, the value of bilateral trade surpassed $1 billion at the end of 2012, and stood at $1.4 billion in 2013. Mozambique is one of China's biggest trading partners in Africa and exports several agricultural and fisheries products to the Asian nation.

China, on the other hand, is involved in several big-ticket infrastructure projects, such as the $725 million Ka Tembe Bridge in Maputo. China Road and Bridge Corporation started building the 60-meter high and 3-km long project in 2012, and plans to add at least 2,000 jobs locally. According to Mozambique President Armando Guebuza, the project will link Maputo with Rovuma in the northern part of the country and give a considerable fillip to economic activities.

Chinese investment in other Mozambique sectors such as oilfields, tourism and agriculture has also progressed steadily. The Asian nation was also Mozambique's main international financial creditor in 2012, providing loans worth $1.15 billion.

The cooperation extends to other fields also. Chinese medical teams have been working in Mozambique since the 1970s. There are as many as 200 Mozambican students studying in China on Chinese scholarships, while various Chinese official developmental projects are being carried out in Mozambique. Several major government buildings and public facilities are financed by China, including the new Maputo International Airport, and the national stadium, in the Maputo suburb of Zimpeto.

Though there have been increased interactions between the two sides, there are also some problems. There have been apprehensions in Mozambique that Chinese companies are not doing enough in corporate social responsibility, such as the treatment of workers, respect for local culture and environment issues. There have also been concerns about the quality of Chinese products and the perceived lack of respect for local labor laws.

I believe that it is not bad to have some wrinkles in the China-Mozambique relationship. In my opinion, if there are no problems, then there will be very little contact between the two sides. When the contacts deepen, there are bound to be problems. The key here is for both sides to come together and find common solutions to the various problems. Only then will bilateral relations make further progress.

The author is a professor at the Center for African Studies under the Peking University.