2019年经济学人 非洲新抢夺战(2)（在线收听）

Commercial ties are being upended. As recently as 2006 Africa’s three biggest trading partners were America, China and France, in that order. By 2018 it was China first, India second and America third (France was seventh). Over the same period Africa’s trade has more than trebled with Turkey and Indonesia, and more than quadrupled with Russia. Trade with the European Union has grown by a more modest 41%. The biggest sources of foreign direct investment are still firms from America, Britain and France, but Chinese ones, including state-backed outfits, are catching up, and investors from India and Singapore are eager to join the fray. The stereotype of foreigners in Africa is of neocolonial exploiters, interested only in the continent’s natural resources, not its people, and ready to bribe local bigwigs in shady deals that do nothing for ordinary Africans.

商业关系正在被颠覆。2006年，非洲最大的三个贸易伙伴依次是美国、中国和法国。到2018年，次序是中国第一，印度第二，美国第三（法国第七）。同期，非洲与土耳其和印度尼西亚的贸易增长了两倍多，与俄罗斯的贸易增长了四倍多。同期，非洲与土耳其和印度尼西亚的贸易增长了两倍多，与俄罗斯的贸易增长了四倍多。与欧盟的贸易仅增长了41%。外国直接投资的最大来源仍然是来自美国、英国和法国的公司，但包括政府支持的机构在内的中国企业正在迎头赶上，印度和新加坡的投资者也急于加入这场争夺。非洲对外国人的刻板印象就是新殖民主义剥削者，只对非洲大陆的自然资源感兴趣，而对非洲人民持漠不关己的态度，并且准备贿赂当地的权贵，进行对普通非洲人毫无益处的不正当交易。

The stereotype is sometimes true. Far too many oil and mineral ventures are dirty. Corrupt African leaders, of whom there is still an abundance, can always find foreign enablers to launder the loot. And contracts with firms from countries that care little for transparency, such as Russia, are often murky. Three Russian journalists were murdered last year while investigating a Kremlin-linked mercenary outfit that reportedly protects the president of the war-torn Central African Republic and enables diamond-mining there. Understandably, many saw a whiff of old-fashioned imperialism.

有时情况确如这种刻板印象。太多的石油和矿产企业都见不得光。腐败的非洲领导人（现在仍有很多）总能找到外国的帮凶来洗黑钱。此外，与俄罗斯等不太注重透明度的国家的公司签订的合同往往也不透明。去年，三名俄罗斯记者在调查一个与克里姆林宫有关联的雇佣军组织时被谋杀。据报道，该组织保护饱受战争蹂躏的中非共和国的总统，并在那里开采钻石。不难理解，许多人看到了一丝旧式帝国主义的味道。

However, engagement with the outside world has mostly been positive for Africans. Foreigners build ports, sell insurance and bring mobile-phone technology. Chinese factories hum in Ethiopia and Rwanda. Turkish Airlines flies to more than 50 African cities. Greater openness to trade and investment is one reason why GDP per head south of the Sahara is two-fifths higher than it was in 2000. (Sounder macroeconomic policies and fewer wars also helped.) Africans can benefit when foreigners buy everything from textiles to holidays and digital services.

然而，与外部世界的接触对非洲人而言是积极的。外国人修建港口，出售保险，带来移动电话技术。中国工厂在埃塞俄比亚和卢旺达蓬勃发展。土耳其航空公司飞往非洲50多个城市。对贸易和投资更加开放是撒哈拉以南地区人均GDP比2000年高出五分之二的原因之一。（更健全的宏观经济政策和更少的战争也有帮助。）当外国人购买从纺织品到假期和数字服务等一切商品时，非洲人可以从中受益。