Princewill Odidi|12 April 2016|6:00am
China is North Korea’s most important ally, biggest trading partner, and main source of food, arms, and energy. It has helped sustain Kim Jong-un’s regime, and has historically opposed harsh international sanctions on North Korea in the hope of avoiding regime collapse and a refugee influx across their 870-mile border.
Despite US jitters about China’s rise, Beijing and Washington are building a partnership along the lines of what President Xi Jinping calls a “new type of major-country relationship” – no clash, no confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win through cooperation –
In International Relations,we have always assumed, the friend of your friend is your friend, and enemy of your friend is your enemy, however this rule does not apply to China.
China talks with Iran and North Korea, countries considered core enemies of USA yet China is the unholy partner US cannot do without.
Nigeria is gaining international strategic importance of late. The US is doing everything humanly possible to make Nigeria a core ally, the seating arrangement in the last nuclear summit where nigeria sat next to America was strategic. These are not coincidence and everyday happenstances, in this games that nations play every move, every pass, every player replacement , the body language of the referee, every thing matters.
Was Buhari schooled in America on how to engage China in this trip? I leave that topic for another day.
China's offer of two billion infrastructure loan to nigeria is timely and would help boost Buhari's deficit budget?
However it is interesting how Chinese companies will be offered virtually all the construction contracts.
I attended the Chinese-American Investment forum last week in DC, it was surprising how the Chinese reacted to a question if Chinese American companies could participate in Chinese funded projects in Nigeria.
It was surprising that the chairman came out bluntly to say this jobs were reserved for the homeland companies.
What I got out of this was that Chinese Americans are segregated upon when it comes to Capital transfer.
Late Friday, most of the participants left for China to join Buhari in the business sessions as they are bent on getting a piece of the pie even if it means working with Homeland companies to penetrate Nigeria.
Now how prepared is the Nigerian businessman as this game enters a new dimension? Do we continue to play middleman services for a paltry fee, or are we ready to have a foothold on manufacturing and commerce as we get engaged in these games that nations play?
Most Nigerian businessmen who have signed up to attend the business forum Tuesday in Beijing are mostly politicians and service contractors.
What bothers me, where are our industralist and manufacturers? How long do we run a service and middleman economy for a fee?
We cannot continue to be spectators in these games that nations play, the Nigerian Bank of Industry and other relevant bodies must step up their game to fund more projects and ideas created to build industries and entrepreneurs .
The best job creation policy for Nigeria should be built on creating entrepreneurs, who will in turn create jobs.
Our consciousness on how to engage the world must change. We cannot overcome joblessness among our youths by building a middlemen service economy whose usefulness ends with the fee they receive for introducing foreign firms to our government.
It's time we drive a Chinese type economy and diplomatic relations built on no permanent friends and enemies but permanent interest. And in engaging new markets, we attempt to drive in our unemployment crises when signing deals.
China today exports unemployment to developing economies by offering loan programs designed squarely for their homeland companies to recruit their unemployed for work in Africa.
As we sign this contracts and loan programs, it is important to understand that it is not saraka, neither do they give us loans out of love, we have to be smart and key into the game with a strategic plan.
If China was a club side, maybe they will be a Chelsea, no permanent friend or enemy. So our proposed relationship with China will be a partnership or a master servant relationship? What are our expectations on terms and balance of trade going forward.
Princewill Odidi
Writes from Atlanta
