Analysis of the perception of China's actions in Africa during the pandemic
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Analysis of the perception of
China's actions in Africa
during the pandemic
June 2020
35° Nord and Afriques Connectées, a laboratory that analyses viral
phenomena at work on social media in Africa, have joined forces to
monitor and analyse discussions on African social media during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
35° Nord and Afriques Connectées have produced this study of the
discussions on African social media concerning China and its actions
on the continent during the Covid-19 pandemic.
1
Background to the study
Since the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic, China has been
stepping up international aid operations to several countries, including
many African states.
118,000
tweets analysed
While ties between the ‘Middle Kingdom’ and the African continent have
been steadily deepening for several years, China's recent actions,
described by some as “mask diplomacy”, have given rise to numerous 47,500
Twitter accounts discussed China-
comments on social media in Africa. China's handling of the pandemic at Africa relations
home has also been the subject of lively online discussions, including the
highly politicised case of African expatriates encountering racism in
several cities across the country.
6,500
Facebook posts analysed
How are African Internet users reacting to Chinese actions on their
continent? Are they the only ones talking about this? How is China 805,000
interactions generated on
perceived among Africans online? Facebook
A sample of Twitter and Facebook reactions and posts pertaining to these 3,800
China-Africa relations in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic was Facebook pages discussed China-
Africa relations
collected between 6 May and 3 June with the help of the Visibrain
platform, to compile the body of the present study.
2
Analysed data
Afriques Connectées analysed nearly 120,000 tweets
posted on Twitter between 6 May and 3 June by
more than 47,000 Twitter accounts, which generated
over 2 billion impressions.
The Internet users engaged in these conversations
were particularly active, with an average of 2 tweets
per Internet user posting a message and 2.5 RT per
Internet user, proof of a high account engagement.
On Facebook, more than 6,500 posts from 3,800
pages were scrutinised. While the China-Africa
relations topic only generated a moderate level of
engagement (a little over 100 interactions per
publication), it did, however, attract a very high level
of visibility with nearly 10 billion impressions on
posts discussing China's actions in Africa.
3
Salient points of the analysis
Discussions on China's actions in African countries generate passionate, nuanced debates, far from a polarised or
Manichean vision. Chinese equipment and medical assistance actions in Africa are praised online, particularly by
African governments. However, China's stranglehold on African economies and, more particularly, the continent's
limited sovereignty is a major source of visibility on this issue.
Despite China's endeavours in Africa, African Internet users seem to have little taste for Chinese philanthropy, and
question its selfless sincerity, as demonstrated by the massive use of the “angry” reaction emoji on Facebook (6% of
reactions recorded on posts) and the various hashtags of pan-African mobilisation in defence of China's different
offensives. The condemnation of Chinese racist acts against Africans is one of the main sources of visibility,
multiplied tenfold by the global context. This instrumentalised racism has become a true alibi for the image battle
between China and the United States.
The exploitation of African biodiversity by Chinese companies is also a significant aspect of China's image in Africa,
and is a subject that is being raised by Internet users from all over the world.
The pandemic has prompted China to step up its influence and soft-power efforts, especially through its private
sector, such as the Jack Ma Foundation (which has provided a lot of equipment to fight the pandemic in Africa),
but also on social media. Since the beginning of June, the Jack Ma Foundation has surrounded itself with African
influencers to find amplifiers for its rhetoric and polish its image among Africa's connected youth.
4
#1 Community Analysis
5
Enhanced mapping of the 1,800 most influential accounts (according to the Eigenvector centrality statistical filter), classified and grouped by conversational and relational proximity (Modularity)
Multiple and fluctuating protagonists
A multiplicity of people take part in discussions on China's relations
with Africa: from anonymous African Internet user accounts to
President Donald Trump, the profiles of the people who have taken Details of the Twitter mapping
methodology
up the subject are truly varied.
Of the more than 47,000 accounts
Although there is a significant presence of Chinese media collected that posted on the topic, we
accounts (such as @CGTNOfficial or @XHNews) among those with have mapped the 1,800 most influential.
The size of these accounts (nodes) is
the largest audience, these accounts are only moderately influential proportional to their influence within the
in terms of the low engagement rates generated by their tweets. conversations (eigenvector centrality).
The nodes have been broken down by
The subject of China-Africa relations is also strongly pre-empted by conversational and relational proximity
using the Modularity statistical filter (
well-known African online activists or militants' accounts, such as colour coding). These relationships only
Kenyan anti-corruption activist @bonifacemwangi whose tweets exist from the tweets retrieved here and
have been retweeted more than 1,500 times, and blogger not from a relational history.
The colours each represent a thematic
@gabrieloguda, retweeted almost 900 times. community.
7
3,300 hashtags were used by the Internet users who took part
in the Twitter conversations.
The hashtag #ChinaIsNotOurProblem is one of the most used
African Internet user hashtags to talk about China's relations
with Africa, particularly Nigeria.
The context of global action against anti-black violence has a
particular resonance on the continent, with the hashtag
#BlackLivesMatter frequently included in tweets on the subject
of China-Africa. .
#ChinaAfricaImpact, used regularly and over a long period of
time, focuses conversations on Chinese development initiatives.
This hashtag is mainly used for Kenya and by Kenyans.
Mapping of the 3,300 hashtags used in tweets related to China-Africa conversations, grouped
by conversational and relational proximity (Modularity)
#2 Between China's aid and its
stranglehold on Africa
9
China's aid to Africa: mixed views
China's humanitarian and health aid to the African continent has been met with positive
comments but also with suspicion.
African governments, on the other hand, have been quick to thank Beijing for the
assistance provided to their countries. As far as the public is concerned, while these are
not conversations polarised between two Manichean visions of China's action, some
Internet users condemn China's hidden intentions disguised under a veneer of
philanthropy.
However, these attacks are counterbalanced by the inaction, or even lack of interest, of
other major world powers, particularly the United States which, since Donald Trump
came to power, has been perceived as wanting to disengage from Africa from an
economic, humanitarian and security point of view.
Chinese media, such as China Xinhua News or People's Daily China, are very active in
reporting the country's actions in Africa. They generate very high rates of engagement,
even though it’s not possible to exhaustively locate the source of interactions. However,
many Chinese Internet users welcome these initiatives in Africa, particularly concerning
the fight against Covid-19, extolling Chinese pride against the WHO or the USA, and the
role that China must play on the world stage.
10Focus: Jack Ma Foundation and the continent
In the fight against Covid-19, one of the philanthropic actions that attracted a lot of
reactions in the media and social media is certainly the proactivity of Alibaba’s founder, Jack
Ma. The second biggest Chinese fortune and his Foundation have gone out of their way
to proclaim #OneWorldOneFight for South-South solidarity against the virus. As early as
16th March, the charismatic businessman has mediatized the massive shipment of medical
devices to the 54 African countries. This timing has earned fierce mockery to African
billionaires, as the Nigerian Aliko Dangote, whose statement and financial contribution
came later on.
These donations and the creation of the Global MediXchange for Combating Covid-19
(GMCC), a dialogue platform for medical staff around the world, especially in Africa and
China, were acclaimed and relayed by different African personalities. One of these relays
has been the Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, through his communication
channels and Ethiopian Airlines’, which took care of most of the donations’ logistics.
The intensive communication of Alibaba, its subsidiaries, Jack Ma and the Foundation those
three last months is often associated in the media to the ‘Mask Diplomacy’ of the Chinese
state. However, those actions align in the continuity of the group and his founder’ presence
in Africa, for instance on youth entrepreneurship with Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative
(ANPI) since 2019.
11Mistrust of China’s “benevolence”.
NTV Kenya’s post announcing the opening of a Chinese-funded school that will teach
exclusively in Mandarin generated vehement comments and a very high number of
“angry” reactions, amounting to more than 10% of reactions.
Nevertheless, the expression of this distrust of China in Africa has to be balanced and
nuanced. Indeed, China is not the only foreign power to be accused of favouring its
economic and commercial interests in Africa. There are numerous posts accusing
China, Russia, the USA and Europe of trying to hog the “African pie”.
The director of Texas Grillz generated nearly 4,000 likes, 800 shares and more than 900
comments on Facebook when, at the end of May, he condemned "Ivorian and African
hypocrisy" over criticism of the establishment of Chinese businesses in the country
and on the continent. In Kenya, Internet users are worried about China's ever-growing
influence on the country's economy. Others say that “Africans are well aware of the
shortcomings of Chinese assistance and business in Africa - from trade imbalance to
heavy debt, from poor quality products to corrupt practices”.
12China's actions under scrutiny by Internet users
China is perceived as one of the most active infrastructure builders on the
African continent and particularly in English-speaking countries on the east
coast of Africa (Kenya, Tanzania). However, the infrastructure built by China is
often criticised for its poor quality and sustainability. The Sigiri Bridge in
Kenya, which collapsed two weeks after its official opening in 2017, today
remains a powerful image that calls into question Chinese construction
projects on the continent. .
Moreover, China is strongly accused of building infrastructure designed to
develop and enrich its intelligence policy. This attribute has been a constant
in the perception of Chinese action since 2018 and the cyber espionage of
the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa (Le Monde, January 2018). These
subjects very regularly generate high rates of engagement on social media
networks, coming from Africa but also from all over the world.
13Chinese actions and the resurgence of internal
problems in African countries
China's humanitarian and health aid to Africa is generating
tensions related to governance and management in each
country. For example, Cameroon's Ministry of Public Health's
statements on Chinese health aid have led to strong and
numerous criticisms related to government corruption and
the allocation of equipment and donations to the population.
In Nigeria, China's actions and, more generally, its influence
can create and exacerbate “ethnic” tensions. In fact, some
Nigerian Internet users generate high levels of engagement
when they expose the collusion of the ethnic group
historically in power, which they sometimes accuse head-on
of selling off national sovereignty to China for the benefit of
the ruling clan.
14Asserting state sovereignty
Rumours of the arrival of 60 Chinese travellers in Côte d'Ivoire, who may have entered the
country in mid-March without being tested or quarantined, even though the first strict
measures, including border closures, had been taken by the government, caused a huge
stir on social media. A similar incident in Kenya also provoked widespread sharing and
condemnation of the privileged status granted to Chinese arrivals.
In Rwanda, President Paul Kagame's decision to expel 18 Chinese nationals was
overwhelmingly welcomed on pan-African and mainstream news pages.
It is nonetheless noteworthy that these criticisms from African Internet users do not lead
to xenophobic remarks against the Chinese. Rather, they reflect a demand for the
assertion of the sovereignty and independence of African States and institutions or,
more broadly, for equal treatment.
15Is India China's new competitor in Africa?
The African continent is highly coveted by
foreign powers. The problems that China
could create in developing its activities in
Africa are opportunities for others.
The Indian media and social media regularly
report on China's shortcomings and
upheavals in Africa, thereby opening up
opportunities for the second largest Asian
power to establish and develop new
partnerships with the African continent, with
lessons to be learned from China's
experience. .
16#3 The issue of China's racism
towards Africans
17#BlacksInChina campaign for discrimination
against Africans in China
The subject of racism against Africans, which was revived during the
Covid-19 pandemic, is a prominent theme when talking about China.
Personal experiences, eyewitness reports and videos from the
media (BBC News Africa), general African news accounts (Africa Facts
Zone) and ordinary Internet users are flooding into social networks,
firmly condemning the treatment of African nationals in China.
Africans have been forcibly quarantined and sprayed with
disinfectant at the entrance to shops, without being allowed to enter.
Spread via the #BlacksInChina and #BlackChina hashtags, which
have been used more than 8,300 times, these condemnations have
become more widespread with the worldwide context of violence
against Blacks. A convergence with the #BlacksLivesMatter
movement can therefore be observed.
Despite the vehemence and legitimacy of these condemnations,
African Internet users have not resorted to xenophobic speech on a
massive scale against the Chinese government and people.
Xenophobia does not seem to be part of African reactions to and
criticism of the Chinese.
18African reactions to Chinese racism
Several African officials have stepped up to the plate following
the broadcasting of videos on social media of the abuse inflicted
on their compatriots in China.
On 9 April, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested a
meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria in which he
asked for immediate intervention from Beijing.
The African Union also reacted, stating in a communiqué
published on its social media accounts that “Africa values its
relationship with China, but not at any price”.
Despite this diplomatic response, numerous African Internet
users still feel that the reactions of their leaders are too timid in
condemning and opposing this treatment, and that China's
influence and control over domestic policies are at the root of
the problem.
19The instrumentalisation of racism against Africans
at the centre of international relations
The issue of Chinese racism against Africans, although initially limited to Africa,
quickly spread beyond the continent's borders to become a real alibi for a battle
of image and influence between America and China through diplomatic
interventions.
From the very outset of the crisis, the United States jumped into the fray. While
the US State Department spokesman condemned a hollow partnership between
China and Africa, highlighted by the mistreatment inflicted on Africans on
Chinese territory, President Trump went so far as to use China's racism against
Africans to justify his decision to withdraw his country from the World Health
Organization.
In the midst of the “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations in the United States,
China issued a press release condemning the chronic disease of American
racism, prompting mockery from African Internet users, who pointed out the
irony of the situation by drawing parallels with the case of their compatriots who
were encountering Chinese racism.
While the United States and China engage in this battle for influence, African
officials such as Paul Kagame and Moussa Faki Mahamat are raising their voices
and calling for a refocusing of attention on managing the Covid crisis.
20#4 The Pangolin symbolises
the exploitation of Africa's
biodiversity
21China accused of exploiting Africa's
environment
China's exploitation of resources derived from African biodiversity is a
strong source of criticism from African and international Internet users
alike.
This is because most of the posts on this topic are by non-African
environmental pages. In Ghana, China's exploitation of bauxite is the
subject of rage among the country's Internet users.
However, China is not the only country singled out for criticism: more
widely, Internet users from all countries are condemning the misdeeds of
capitalism and its extractive activity and questioning the consumer society,
as well as the United States' role in this trend.
In early June, National Geographic published an article stating that China
had withdrawn pangolin parts from its 2020 list of approved traditional
medicines., saying that “the scales have long been sold in traditional
pharmacies in China.” The pangolin is suspected of being the source of
the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the past five years, 90% of the
62 tons of pangolins seized in Hong Kong came from Nigeria.
22Criticism of China against the backdrop of
animal rights
Numerous tweets published in early June with the hashtag
#CorruptChineseDonkeyDeals vociferously condemned
the fate of African donkeys: “Having killed almost all its
donkeys, China has resorted to importing the animal from
Africa. The donkeys are stolen from Kenya and stored in the
most horrific conditions before being slaughtered.”
Others point out that many African countries have decided
to stop the export of African donkeys to China and
encourage their governments to do the same, particularly
Kenya, which seems to be the African country most
affected by these practices. Animal rights NGO PETA has
committed itself to this issue by launching a petition.
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