China in Namibia

China is said to be the next superpower of the world. Entirely believable after you see the evidence in Namibia. Every town in Namibia has a shop that reads “The China Shop”. When we queried JoJo, our tour leader on this, he told us that the proprietors of these shops are Chinese and hence the shops are called “China shop”.

The Chinese have arrived in Namibia in more ways than one. Not only are “made in China” products flooding the Namibian markets, Chinese construction companies are doing brisk business. These companies are owned by Chinese and staffed predominantly by the Chinese and are at the forefront of “Building Namibia”. China has been very generous with giving aid to Africa and in return, Jojo informs us that the African nations have agreed to allow China to send its prisoners who have been sentenced to exile to live and work in these countries. Many of them work on the various infrastructure projects being funded by the Chinese government. In fact, China has had the foresight to invest heavily in the oilfields and minefields across the African continent which will ensure an uninterrupted supply of raw materials for its economic growth.

The locals have recognized the fact that China and the Chinese are here to stay and the Chinese language courses are very popular in Namibia. Not too far away, the Chinese will probably be the new “white” people of the African continent.