西方低估中国在非洲的软实力

Maxwell Zeken is a 16-year-old Liberian who lives in rural Nimba County. Asked where he dreams of studying, he says: “I want to study engineering in China and come back to Liberia to build our roads and our cities. They say you must visit the Great Wall of China. I regret that my country didn’t build something like that.”

16岁的利比里亚少年麦克斯韦?泽肯(Maxwell Zeken)住在年巴县(Nimba County)乡下。当被问到渴望到哪里学习时，他说：“我想到中国学习工程技术，然后回国建设我们的道路和城市。他们说一定要参观中国的长城(Great Wall)。很遗憾，我们国家没有那样的建筑。”

Western governments like to imagine that they have all the soft power in Africa. After all — if you put aside 100 years or so of colonial predation — for decades they have been providing emergency relief and supporting health, education and transparent institutions. What’s more, they are democracies, with systems worth emulating.

西方国家的政府总爱想象只有他们在非洲拥有软实力。毕竟，如果抛开100年左右的殖民掠夺不谈，几十年来他们一直在为非洲提供紧急救助，并支持医疗、教育和透明机构。更重要的是，他们是民主国家，拥有值得效仿的制度。

China, so this narrative goes, elicits no such goodwill. It has only ratcheted up its presence in Africa for what anyone can see is a naked grab for resources and influence. Sure, China has built roads, railways, sports stadiums and airports across Africa. But, according to this mostly self-delusory narrative, such projects are of shoddy quality and alienate Africans because they employ mainly Chinese workers.

按照西方这种叙事的逻辑，中国丝毫没有拿出类似的善意。中国加强在非洲的存在只是为了赤裸裸地掠夺资源和获取影响力——这一点所有人都看得出。当然，中国在非洲各地修建了公路、铁路、体育场馆和机场。但是，根据这种多半是自欺欺人的叙事，这些项目质量低劣，而且还疏远了非洲人，因为工程雇用的大都是中国工人。

The problem with this version of events is that — if it was ever valid — it is woefully out of date. Certainly, you don’t have to go far in Africa to hear complaints against China, which is blamed for everything from enriching dictators to wiping out local manufacturing and entrapping governments in a new cycle of debt. Another, more powerful, story is taking hold, however, that sees China as a mostly positive actor with a record — unlike the west — of getting things done.

这种叙事的问题是，如果说它曾经站得住脚的话，那么它也已经严重过时了。当然，你不必远赴非洲就能听到对中国的种种抱怨，所有问题都可以推到中国身上——从资助独裁者到摧毁当地的制造业、诱使各国政府陷入新一轮债务循环。然而，另一种更有说服力的叙事正逐渐流行，这种观点把中国视为一个能办实事（不同于西方）、大体上正面的参与者。

Philibert Browne, editor of Liberia’s Hot Pepper newspaper, says China is winning admiration. In Liberia, it has built roads — ones of not obviously inferior quality — and a spanking new campus at the University of Liberia, replete with friendship tower and Chinese-style gate.

利比里亚报纸《辣椒》(Hot Pepper)的总编辑菲利伯特?布朗(Philibert Browne)说，中国正在赢得敬佩。在利比里亚，中国修建了公路（质量看不出有多差），为利比里亚大学(University of Liberia)建设了崭新的校园，点缀以友谊塔和中式大门。

“You can see what they are spending their money on but you can’t see what the Americans are spending on,” Mr Browne says. “You don’t put capacity building on your meal table. Slowly but surely, the Chinese are winning in Africa.”

“你能看到他们把钱花在哪里，但你看不到美国人把钱花在哪里，”布朗说，“你（美国）不把能力用在解决吃饭问题上。虽然进展缓慢，但中国人正稳扎稳打地在非洲取得节节胜利。”

In Kenya, where a state-owned Chinese company is about to complete a $4bn railway from the Indian Ocean to Nairobi, you hear similar things. The line, which will eventually extend to Uganda and possibly Rwanda, has been criticised for costing too much. But many ordinary Kenyans appreciate a project that has been built on schedule, looks modern and will cut freight and passenger time.

在肯尼亚，你会听到类似的事。一家中国国企在肯尼亚修建的从印度洋到内罗毕的总值40亿美元的铁路即将竣工。这条最终将延伸至乌干达、甚至可能到卢旺达的铁路线，被诟病造价太高。但很多肯尼亚老百姓赞赏这样一个按时间表修建、看起来很现代、并将缩短货运和客运时间的项目。

This is anecdotal evidence to be sure. Yet according to a policy brief by the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, China’s more visible engagement is reflected in ballooning trade and investment.

这的确只是坊间证据。不过据约翰?霍普金斯大学(Johns Hopkins University)的“中非研究倡议”(China-Africa Research Initiative)所做的一项政策简报，中国在非洲更能让人看见的参与反映在了不断膨胀的贸易和投资上。

One figure leaps out. From 2000 to 2015, China Eximbank made $63bn of loans to Africa while the US Eximbank made $1.7bn. China Eximbank contributed to almost all 54 African countries, while US Eximbank contributed to five.

一项数据引起注意。从2000年到2015年，中国进出口银行(China ExIm Bank)向非洲发放贷款630亿美元，而美国进出口银行(US ExIm Bank)向非洲发放的贷款为17亿美元。中国进出口银行几乎为非洲54个国家都提供了融资，而美国进出口银行只向5个国家发放了贷款。

Money and concrete do not guarantee a good reputation. In Ghana, Chinese citizens have been accused of running roughshod over local mining laws. In Zambia, where as many as 100,000 Chinese people live, local politicians accuse Beijing of flouting immigration laws by bringing in unskilled labour.

金钱和混凝土并不能保证良好的声誉。在加纳，中国公民被指责践踏了当地的采矿法。在赞比亚——多达10万中国人生活在这里——当地政客指责中国无视移民法，向赞比亚输出不具备技能的劳动力。

It is important to note that China has several actors, of varying proximity to the state, across the continent. Drawing a unifying picture or discerning a clear China Inc strategy is not always easy.

值得注意的是，中国在非洲大陆有多个行为主体，他们与当地政府的关系有远有近。无论是勾勒一幅统一的形象，还是辨认中国企业的清晰战略，都不是容易的事。

Still, you do not need to drink the Beijing Cool Aid to see that China’s image is better than many westerners care to believe. Certainly, no country can engage with a continent on so prodigious a scale without ruffling some feathers and making some enemies. China is making friends too.

不过，无需亲身体验你也可以看出，中国在非洲的形象比许多西方人愿意相信的要好。当然，哪个国家能与一个大洲如此密切往来而不惹来一些不满、树立些许敌人呢？中国也在交朋友。