African exploration of industrialization path and the role of Chinese solution

　　Zhou Jinyan

　　This paper tries to address three questions: First, why has African industrialization effort failed with Western aid? Second, which kind of industrialization paths will Africa pursue? Third, what can China bring to African industrialization path as a partner, contributor and mutual learner?

　　The failure of African industrialization is mainly due to the lacking of African policy sovereignty and the misleading of Western prescription. Aid caused African dependence while the dominance of Western neo-liberal thinking deprived the African ownership of its own industrialization path. The Western aid is reluctant to support African industrialization for another two reasons. On the one hand, Western donors fear that an industrialized Africa will compete with the West and thus kicks away the ladder for African industrialization. On the other hand, Western countries which already transferred low-end manufacturing industries to East Asia have no more demand for industry transfer to Africa and thus no motivation to promote African industrialization.

　　The Chinese Solution assists African industrialization mainly through three aspects. First, the infrastructure funded and constructed by China provides hardware guarantee for African industrialization; Second, China’s own development experience provides an alternative path for African industrialization; Third, China-African cooperation has changed the paradigm of international development cooperation and Africa’s marginalized status in the world economic and political system. However, China's capital, technology and experience only serve as boosters of industrialization in Africa. The real engine of industrialization is in the hands of African countries. The Chinese Solution can only succeed if it is aligned with Africa's own development strategies. The political willingness and implementation capacities of African host governments are the key to success.