WALVIS BAY - The emerging economy of China, which is rapidly rising in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has sparked growing concerns regarding unethical business behaviour.

This was one of the challenges stipulated by the Regional Trade Policy Advisor of the Hub & Spokes Project, Richard Kamidza, on Saturday during a two-day information session of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics at the harbour town.
The meeting was based on the importance of trade in the development of Namibia, and took place under the facilitation of the Agricultural Trade Forum of Namibia.

“The challenges associated with emerging economies are that negotiating trade and development cooperation, especially with China, is not transparent,” said Kamidza during a presentation on the presence of China, Brazil and India in SADC.

The presentation outlined the opposing fortunes of the emerging economy of China, which is rapidly rising and modernising, expanding their global footprint in Africa and increasingly becoming a global power. In comparison to China, SADC economies are weak, vulnerable and marginalised from the global economy. He noted that Chinese infrastructure investments dominate the SADC construction sector, such as roads, rail lines, municipal buildings, and sports stadiums.

“These investments are exchanged with access to natural resources, particularly oil,” Kamidza explained. He continued that the Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and infrastructure projects in SADC were estimated at N$84 billion, including N$42 billion non-financial investments, by February 2011. These infrastructure projects have helped to connect previously isolated regions and have also helped to facilitate business across southern Africa, said Kamidza.  - Nampa