China cuts out the middleman

摘要

When Europeans first arrived in Africa, the indigenous peoples must have wondered: "Why are they showing interest in us? And where will this take us?" Today the same questions are being asked of China's rapid move into the continent. What, then, is the endgame of China's commercial engagement of Africa? The net result of Europeans' move into Africa was political and economic dependency for the continent. Take the London Metals Exchange. Despite Africa possessing the greatest quantity of the globe's metals and minerals, the value of their extraction is not where they are mined but the trading thereof on the LME.