[Southack]

Africa has oil and uranium, sure, but natural resources are the curse of the black continent. They empower corruption by offering the lure of fast, easy money rather than encouraging the establishment of domestic infrastructure, manufacturing, rule of law, and education.

As such, Africa's endemic corruption places a vast, hidden tax on its natural resources.

Let China pay it.

[durasell]

Africa also has a ton (okay, millions of tons) of things like rare earth metals, such as coltran, which is vital to cell phones and video games and advanced electronics. Semi-precious stones, precious stones, rare woods, etc. etc.

A lot of folks are flocking there now from Europe and the U.S. some of the countries are real gold rush style boom towns though the press never covers it.

[diesel00]

Africa has oil and uranium, sure, but natural resources are the curse of the black continent. They empower corruption by offering the lure of fast, easy money rather than encouraging the establishment of domestic infrastructure, manufacturing, rule of law, and education.

Are the Chinese in Africa writing checks or are they building roads, dams, factories and schools there? If they are doing the former, then I say g'luck to the Chinese because they are going to need it. If they are building infrastructure (which is what a lot of the papers are saying), then the question that must be asked is why? I read from another British paper that the doors of buildings that the Chinese construct in Africa are all designed for the average height of the Chinese (5'8" male). Makes you wonder if one day we will see the African equivalent of Singapore spring up somewhere in Africa.