Johannesburg — THE boom in China's investments in Africa over the past 17 years was driven more by simple profit motives than complex political and strategic considerations, an academic and government spokesma n said on Monday.

Zhong Jianhua, China's ambassador to SA, said during a debate at the Gordon Institute of Business Science in Johannesburg to mark the launch of the China Africa Network, that if business investments were made for political reasons, they would hardly be sustainable.
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He was answering a questioner who referred to the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China's investment in Standard Bank , expressing suspicions voiced by other commentators over several years that China's involvement in Africa could be more than merely commercial.

Last month the Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University circulated an article warning that China's expanding interests in Africa threatened the environmental, economic and political stability of African society. Last year China became SA's biggest trading partner and in December it overtook Germany as the world's biggest exporter.

But Zhong said: "I wish I could give political instructions to business people. There may be some cases where people come here for political considerations but most business people come to SA, as in any part of the world, without political motivation. Otherwise it would not be sustainable."

Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said China and Africa's cordial relations dated back to the 1950s and 1960s, when they grappled with imperialism and apartheid.

Through partnerships with countries like China, the continent could raise itself out of its current economic quagmire and address issues like poverty and underdevelopment, he said.

"It is important for us to manage this growth in trade and ensure minimal dislocation in our own economy," Nzimande said, referring to the priority of preserving jobs in SA. "It is only a logical next step that we expand academic exchanges that will explore alternative models for development, especially for developing countries."

The China Africa Network was launched this year with eight projects including research and training, director Martyn Davies said.