????今年夏天，南非的礦工暴力沖突事件成為了全球新聞頭條，也凸顯了在非洲采礦投資的險惡：這一事件造成44名礦工和一名警察死亡，隨后南非全國出現(xiàn)了大范圍的罷工和示威。

????暴力沖突后很多停工的南非工礦如今已重新開工，但非洲礦業(yè)界還有另一件相對不為人知的事件，它的影響可能也同樣深遠。

????今年8月，國有企業(yè)中國黃金集團公司宣布出價39億美元，收購坦桑尼亞最大的金礦公司African Barrick Gold；該公司也是加拿大Barrick Gold Corp的全資子公司。如果交易獲得坦桑尼亞以及African Barrick Gold的上市地倫敦監(jiān)管機構(gòu)批準(zhǔn)，這將是中國首個境外金礦，將把中國黃金的總產(chǎn)能增加一倍。

????中國在非洲似乎有點石成金的魔力，通過向遍布整個非洲的石油、天然氣和其他礦產(chǎn)項目投資，持續(xù)地將廣袤的自然資源變成巨大的財富。中國礦業(yè)聯(lián)合會的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，去年中國在非洲采礦項目上的投資權(quán)益達到近160億美元，較2010年增長了10倍。

????對Barrick的收購料無大礙，這將代表中國收購非洲自然資源的新動向，中國越來越有興趣全盤收購西方公司的非洲資產(chǎn)。而加拿大Barrick公司拒絕就本文發(fā)表評論。

????剖析中國動機

????中國快速崛起成為非洲的重要投資者，引發(fā)了激烈的辯論，中國的投資性質(zhì)是什么，動機是什么。批評人士認為，中國的投資策略是利己，而叫好者則稱贊中國的成事能力，特別是在傳統(tǒng)上西方合作伙伴總是碰壁，有時還輸?shù)煤軕K的領(lǐng)域。

????雙方都有道理。西方旨在減少貧困的計劃確有良好的初衷，但這些計劃往往雷聲大雨點小，對接受資金的非洲政府提出的行政要求過于苛刻。相比之下，中國政府的做法沒那么官僚，但過度看重獲取非洲自然資源，而不是減少非洲地區(qū)的貧困。

????中國在非洲的商業(yè)策略，與這個亞洲超級大國的政治經(jīng)濟目標(biāo)緊密相連。根據(jù)《經(jīng)濟學(xué)家》(The Economist)公布的數(shù)據(jù)，國有企業(yè)資金占中國海外直接投資總額的4/5，促使中國和非洲的政府高官間形成了直接對話。

????不同于美國慣常的附帶外交以及對非洲領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的訓(xùn)示，中國在非洲投入了相當(dāng)?shù)呢斄驼瘟α俊＠?，今?月，中國國家主席胡錦濤在北京主持召開了第五屆中非合作論壇，在會上他特別指出，去年中非貿(mào)易達到了1650億美元，自2006年以來已增長兩倍，中國已成為非洲大陸最大的貿(mào)易伙伴國。同時，胡錦濤還向在座的幾十位非洲國家首腦和幾百位中非政府高官們表達了將繼續(xù)廣泛推動中非關(guān)系，并保持最高層互動。

????中國人能給非洲人提供很多東西，包括幫助發(fā)展基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，用于自然資源開采等。他們也能在與非洲政府的協(xié)議中加入一些“甜頭”，比如大型公共項目，像足球場和新的政府辦公樓等。去年，中國人剛剛建好了非盟(African Union)位于亞的斯亞貝巴、全新的2億美元總部大樓，這是來自中國人民的一份禮物。

????The ugly side of mining in Africa made global headlines this summer, with strikes and protests following violent clashes in South Africa, resulting in the death of 44 miners and a policeman.

????Many of the work stoppages that spread across South Africa following the violence have ended, but there is another story in African mining that has received comparatively little coverage, although the implications are just as significant.

????In August, the state-owned China National Gold Corporation announced a $3.9 billion bid to acquire African Barrick Gold, Tanzania's largest gold miner -- a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada's Barrick Gold Corp (ABX). If approved by regulators in Tanzania as well as in London, where African Barrick Gold is traded, it will become China's first gold mine outside its borders and will double China National Gold's total production capacity.

????China seems to have the Midas touch in Africa, steadily turning vast natural resource wealth into gold through investments in oil, gas, and mineral projects around the continent. Last year, Chinese interests invested nearly $16 billion in African mining projects -- a tenfold increase from 2010 -- according to the China Mining Association.

????The purchase of Barrick, which is expected to go through, would represent a new front in China's acquisition of Africa's natural resources, one where Chinese interests increasingly buy-out Western owned companies operating in African regions that are financial, public, and political liabilities. Barrick declined to provide comment for this article.

????Parsing China's motives

????China's emergence as a major player in Africa is fueling an intense debate over the nature of and motive behind its involvement. Critics argue China's strategy is driven by self-interest to the point of malevolence, while defenders hail its ability to achieve success where traditional partners from the West have consistently, and sometimes dramatically, failed.

????Both sides have a point. Western initiatives designed to alleviate poverty are well intentioned, but these programs are top heavy and the administrative requirements on African governments receiving the funds are unduly cumbersome. The Chinese government's approach, on the other hand, is much less bureaucratic, but opaque to the point of being secretive, which invites corrupt behavior by African leaders, and is overtly focused on securing access to African natural resources as opposed to elevating Africa's poor.

????China's commercial strategy in Africa is deeply tied to the Asian superpower's political and economic goals. According to data published by The Economist, Chinese state-owned companies have funded four-fifths of all Chinese foreign direct investment, which motivates the direct, high-level relationships between senior leaders in China and African governments.

????Compared to the typical drive-by diplomacy and lecturing of African leaders for which the U.S. is well known, China has put significant financial and political weight behind its efforts in Africa. In July of this year, for example, former President Hu Jintao hosted the Fifth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, where he highlighted the $165 billion in trade between China and Africa last year, a tripling since 2006, making China the continent's largest trading partner. Moreover, Hu Jintao sent a message to the dozens of African heads of state and hundreds of senior African and Chinese government officials in attendance that the commitment behind the Sino-African relationship is consistent, comprehensive, and forged at the highest levels.

????The Chinese are able to offer quite a bit to Africa, including help with infrastructure development for natural resource extraction. They are also able to add sweeteners to their deals with African governments, like grand public projects such as soccer stadiums and new government office buildings. Just last year, the Chinese government completed the African Union's brand new $200 million headquarters building in Addis Ababa, as a gift from the Chinese people.