Political journalism on China-Africa in a changing world order: Canada, France, Francophone Africa

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Introduction

In France, April, 21 has become one of those dates that refer to major events and mark collective memories. On April 21, 2002, a large part of French electors were shocked by the first round of voting, in which far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen won enough votes to become the candidate in the presidential race against Jacques Chirac in the second round. Seeking to explain the role of the media in this situation, Albert Du Roy (2003) denounced in his article titled “The dangerous links between journalism and politics” the lack of objectivity in political journalism's coverage of political life, the main consequence of which has been an absence of critical distance to better analyze and deepen political debate, and ultimately to better inform the public. Every discourse bears the mark of the speaker’s social identity (Charron, 2006), the collision between, on the one hand, the journalist in his role as an observer, informant and adviser about the real issues at stake in the campaign and, on the other hand, the object of information and pedagogy (the political scene and actors) becomes a serious compromise: during the elections in 2002, it prevented political journalists from identifying and presenting the real issues at stake between the different political positions; in so doing, it contributes to skewing the public's perception and the choices that individuals make about these political options.

An analysis of media discourse on China and Africa in Canada, France and French-speaking West Africa confirms this trend: political perception and dominant ideology in Canada and France build a common reading lense for describing and interpreting China-Africa relations in the media.

Methodological background

Our initial research consisted of looking for print articles on Africa-Asia in North America, Europe, and Africa. But very quickly it became clear that the major recurring theme in the articles was China-Africa rather than Asia-Africa. We therefore had to rethink the whole approach and collect data on this China-Africa axis, while keeping in mind that it should be Africa-Asia. The point of compiling such a corpus is to find out, from the articles collected, what political journalism is saying about the rise of Asia, and China in particular, as far as Africa is concerned. The collection of articles targeted publications in traditional, widely circulated press organs over twenty years first (2000–2019) in the United States, Canada, France and Africa. By reducing this period to ten years (2010 to 2019) with “China-Africa keywords”, it was possible to select eighty-six texts from the nine thousand articles relevant to the present reflection. This decade is important because it saw the launch of China's gigantic Belt and Road Initiative (New Silk Roads) in 2013. It is also in this decade that one of the largest mobilizations of African states by China; fifty-three African countries were present at the 2018 Forum for “Africa-China Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing. Articles were selected according to criteria of length (long articles), relevance (China-Africa) and language (French).

Discussion

France-Canada: “China-Africa” seen as a Problem and a Challenge in Journalistic Discourse. In the French-Canadian press considered in my research, China's presence on the African continent is perceived as a serious threat to democratic values and economic benefits for Africans, as well as a challenge for Western countries in their interactions with Africa.

A new competitor on the African and world stage: The dominant trend in French press coverage (Le Monde, Le Nouvel Obs., Le Figaro, Le Courrier international etc.) is to regard China's presence on the African continent as an increasingly serious problem, as the latter expands its economic influence on the continent. China is perceived as the new major player on the African chessboard, with ambitions (economic, strategic, and military) that would not unfold without casting a shadow on Western powers, notably France. Djibouti, where this game of great powers – both old and new – is seen as an emblematic example of this new Chinese influence, as seen in La Croix's editorial¹: “What is China doing in Djibouti? It is ensuring the maritime security of its new Silk Road by setting up its port and military base. It is opening to the Ethiopian market, the giant and dragon of the Horn of Africa. It consolidates its presence in Africa, demonstrates its power”.

This editorial from La Croix reveals the common perception of the French media about China, considered “China: the pharaonic construction sites of the conquering empire” by Marc Epstein (2016). It must be said that media coverage of China-Africa is not exclusively devoted to Africa; Africa is perceived as one of the elements of a Chinese global strategy. This perception in French political journalism reveals an admiration tinged with anxiety in the face of an increasingly worrying adversary (De Barochez, 2018).

There are two major aspects to this statement in the political press's portrayal of China-Africa: the first concerns China's gigantic ambitions, with its long-term vision for achieving its ends on the African continent, and in the world more generally. The second aspect of this portrait of China is Europe's grimace and procrastination in the face of a determined adversary “demonstrating an unprecedented diplomatic pragmatism” (Thibault, 2015). Veiled admiration gives way to anxiety and irritation at Europe's, and indeed the West's, overly timid responses. Luc de Barochez warns of a “passive Europe”, while other French media take a more bellicose and antagonistic view of China-Africa.

The impatience with France and Europe that pervades media discourse in France becomes a recurrent reaction in media discourse. One of the most eloquent illustrations is to be found in the words of former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who observes that Globalization is changing shape and centre of gravity. He laments, we hardly realize it, locked in our internal French and European debates, engulfed in Western and liberal globalization thinking, imprisoned by financial and economic tools from another time.

There are many concerns about the Asian giant's “global” presence and ambitions (Epstein, 2016) in Africa: they point to the human rights practices of the People's Republic of China; on the other hand, the problem seen in the media discourse is about China seen as an abusive actor on African soil. Editorials denounce the imbalance in relations between China and African countries, whose interests are supposedly neglected while Chinese industries reap the greatest benefits. Among the concerns and dangers regularly put forward to decry the intensification of China-Africa relations, three stand out: a) The “debt trap” set for Africa; b) the establishment of a new hegemonic power in Africa; c) the fear of a new colonization of Africa by China. In the presentation of China as a newcomer with great ambitions on the African continent, the historic role played there by powers such as France comes up in a few places, sometimes by way of comparison, as seen in La Croix arguing that China is putting itself in a position, one day soon, to be the continent's “new policeman”. As part of this apprehension of a new colonization of Africa by China, Emmanuel Veron (2018) makes a semantic contribution to the distinction between colonialism and imperialism. His comments are based on an analysis by sinologist Jean-Pierre Cabestan in Le Monde (Lemaitre, 2018) who developed the idea of a “hegemonic”, “even imperialist” role of China in Africa.

Canada: democracy and human rights in question. The first part of this article covered the French journalistic discourse in some detail because it reflects the major trends of the French-speaking Canadian media, not to mention the Western media. Questions relating to China's “expansionist” ambitions, seen as a threat to the current world order, the risks of neo-colonialism in Africa and the “debt trap” are equally recurrent in Canada. There is no need to dwell on these, but rather to highlight other aspects of Canadian journalism that are more prominent than in France, though not absent: essentially, democracy and human rights, as well as the role that Western countries should play in Africa and the developing world in the face of China's growing power.

By way of illustration, we'll take a look at one of the most analytical and well-documented articles in the corpus. In “La recette chinoise pour conquérir le monde d'ici 2049” (China's recipe for conquering the world by 2049), Ximena Sampson (2019) provides a comprehensive overview of trends in French-Canadian journalism on China-Africa. She begins by discussing China's role on the world stage, which she sees as destabilizing the world order held dear by the West: “It's not a direct attack, but it's eroding the foundations of the world order as the West imagined it, based on human rights and freedom”.

The world order in question would therefore be based on a set of cardinal values implying that should be defended and promoted. David Shullman, one of the experts quoted in Sampson's article and a senior advisor to the International Republican Institute (IRI), notices: “They [the African leaders] can just take the Chinese money and say 'no thanks' to the IMF [or other Western institutions] and they don't have to comply with their demands for democratic reform or good governance”.

“Democracy” and “Human Rights” therefore feature prominently in media discourse in Canada and the West more generally. Another specialist quoted, Nadege Rolland (2017), makes the following analysis: “If there weren't this divergence of values, even with China's growing economic power, we wouldn't even be talking about a problem of jealousy on the part of the established powers”. An analysis of media discourse reveals “democracy” as a distinctive value. It is the standard by which the West gives itself an identity and sets itself up in opposition to China. Thanks to it, the West sets itself apart from China and acts as a bulwark against the destruction of such a value in the world, and in Africa in particular.

The West as an intercontinental mediator between Africa and China? In French and Canadian media discourse the denunciation of China's action in Africa comes with a pedagogical and preventive approach: taking note of China's almost irrepressible advance on the continent, experts see the West as an experienced mediator able to accompany and advice African countries in their interaction with China (Sampson, 2019).

The overview of the main lines of media coverage on China-Africa in France and Canada is an excellent indicator of the contribution of political journalism to this polarizing issue. It was important to present them without evaluating their foundations and implications. This will be done succinctly in the final part of this contribution. But first, getting an idea of the media perception of China-Africa in Francophone Africa will be useful.

African perspectives. In the French-speaking newspapers analyzed over the period 2010–2019, we have included articles from press organs based in Africa and dedicated to news from the continent such as La Tribune Afrique, the African version of the French La Tribune inaugurated in Morocco in 2016. But most of the media we consulted are local media such as Le Pays and Sidwaya (Burkina Faso), Fraternité Matin (Ivory Coast), Fraternité (Benin), Guinée Matin, Le Matin, L'Économiste (Morocco). The Maghreb is one of the major areas in which China is taking vigorous action to strengthen economic cooperation, following on from its post-Bandung relations with Algeria and Morocco in particular (Pairault, 2017).

The main lines of journalistic coverage on China-Africa in French-speaking Africa show a clear demarcation from the concerns raised in the Western media presented above. It appears that French and Canadian warnings against China in the media and on the political scenes are not having a sufficiently strong dissuasive effect on the African continent. There is no direct, systematic link between China's presence in Africa and the possible erosion of “democracy” as an absolute value; nor, of course, is there any correlation between the search for funding, new China-Africa partnerships, and questions of democracy, with the latter conditioning the former. This fact confirms the apprehension of Canadian and French analysts who deplore the fact that Chinese investments are not accompanied by the condition of democracy operating according to the Western model. A recurrent theme in the French-language press is criticism of the West, and France in particular, for the unsatisfactory results of their historic cooperation with African countries. It is also important to note that while this criticism of old partners is frequent, it is also accompanied by questions, even concerns, about what “new” partners such as China and Russia would do differently. Hence the sporadic warnings against Chinese or Russian neo-colonialism in Africa, and the need for Africa to develop its political agenda and take advantage of this competition between the great powers on its territory.

Indeed, this seems to be the basis of what can be considered the African position as set out in the articles analyzed: a pragmatism based on the search for urgent solutions to long-standing development and security problems on the African continent. Aboubacar Yacouba Barma (2018) reports in La Tribune Afrique: “The Rwandan president's speech was one of the most eagerly awaited at FOCAC 2018, and true to form, Paul Kagamé once again made his presence felt through his statements. First, he rejected the fears of a debt crisis that China is once again imposing on Africa, and which risks mortgaging its development. A “false trap”, according to him, stressing that the scope for cooperation between China and Africa is still quite wide. “Those who criticize China for its debt are not giving enough”, Paul Kagamé implicitly replied to Africa's traditional partners, Western donors, and international financial institutions. who are worried about China's growing power and the billions of yuan pouring into the continent.” This very representative view of media coverage shows an Africa that is open and enthusiastic about seizing opportunities for cooperation and development. It also shows that the political speeches reported in the media are formulated as responses to recurring concerns and warnings coming from Western media and political scenes.

Africa-Asia: lose interest in the West and fall in love with Asia? After this overview of China-Africa in the French-language press in Canada, France and Africa from 2010 to 2019, one observation becomes obvious: the days when the West expanded around the world untroubled, in a spirit captured by Onésime Reclus' famous slogan (1904): “Lâchons l'Asie, prenons l'Afrique” (Let's leave Asia, let's take Africa), are truly over. At present, we rather have the impression that it is Africa that is abandoning a certain way of doing things with the West – France – to fall in love with Asia – China. The direct consequence of Asia's breakthrough in Africa is a proportional decline in the commercial share of Western countries such as France, which enjoyed a quasi-monopoly status there during colonization and since the decades following independence.

The suspicions that accompany Western media analyses of the opening-up to Asia, and China in particular, rarely mention the fact that Afro-Asian relations are not recent. The Bandung conference in 1955 was already quite clear about the need for African and Asian countries to join forces to free themselves from the colonial yoke and cooperate to develop. The 1961 Belgrade conference, which gave birth to the Non-Aligned Movement, was not the daughter of the Bandung conference for nothing. It brought together more African players than Bandung because, by 1961, more African states had gained political independence. Like Bandung, Belgrade also appears very rarely in attempts to analyze the current dynamics in Afro-Asian relations. And yet, we must go back to these great historic meetings (Keita, 1961), but in the right way: the point here is not to give them an importance they didn't have, but to understand the basic principle that motivated them. Bandung and Belgrade are the two sides of the African coin in today's dynamic: one side is the solidarity and cooperation between Africa and Asia, which we need to appreciate if we are to stop being surprised or suspicious of the fact that the two continents are converging in the twenty-first century because this desire for convergence is not new; the other side of the coin concerns the Belgrade principle: recent events in the world, particularly in Ukraine, clearly show that to be more effective with other partners of its choice, Non-alignment is key for the African continent.

Taking a critical look at China-Africa, Mingqing Yuan and Nina Chavoz point out: “Whatever the conclusion, we'll come away convinced that the Sino-African relationship is neither a marriage of love nor a chess game pitting two adversaries against each other: rather, it's a constellation of variable geometry, where everyone – from China to Africa, via America and Europe – must play their part” (2021; p. 26).

Conclusion

Trying to understand the violent rupture between France and some of its former colonies in the Sahel, Stephen Smith (2023) notes in an article with the highly revealing title “France in Africa: Why so much hatred?”: “Seen from the really existing France, neither the scale nor the novelty of this massive rejection has been fully perceived”. The answer to such an important question, however, remains highly insufficient. The major bias in press coverage is to mainly focus on China-Africa, whereas African countries are nurturing and initiating important partnerships with other countries such as Russia, of course, but also India, Japan, Turkey etc. On the sidelines of the second edition of the Europe-Africa Forum (May 15 and 16, 2023 in Marseille), Mounir El Figuigui (2023) notes: “With Asia – especially China and India – more than ever at the top of Africa's list of “new” partners, Europe will have to come to terms with the African adage “The wisdom of the lion is not the wisdom of the panther”. More than ever, Europe needs Africa, which it will have to support in its economic transformation, whatever the cost, to build the long-promised “New Deal”.

This “New Deal” was only envisaged in the emergency thanks to the multipolar situation created by the rise of Asia, among others. Reporting on it from both a European-American and an Asian-African perspective remains a major challenge for political journalism on both sides, for a better understanding of Africa’s new dynamic in a new world order.

^{1 À Djibouti demain commence aujourdhui. (2017, February 16). La Croix. Retrieved November 2, 2023, from https://https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Afrique/A-Djibouti-demain-commence-aujourdhui-2017-02-16-1200825144а}

About the authors

Isaac Bazie

Author for correspondence.
Email: bazie.isaac@uqam.ca
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5802-605X

expert in social anthropology, Prof. Dr., Department of Literary Studies

References