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Sino-African relations were mired in crisis after African officials reacted furiously to accusations that their citizens were routinely discriminated against in Guangzhou, southern China, as suspected potential “carriers” of coronaviruses.
The video posted on social media over the weekend showed people of African descent kicked out of their homes and hotels, sleeping poorly and being denied service in stores. Widespread reports allege that others have been forced into quarantine despite negative tests for Covid-19.
African ambassadors in Beijing wrote a letter to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, seen by the Financial Times, condemning what they said was “the persistent harassment and humiliation of African citizens.” Families with young children were forced to sleep on the streets and passports were confiscated, they said.
“The selection of Africans for mandatory testing and quarantine, in our opinion, has no scientific or logical basis and amounts to racism towards Africans in China,” the letter said, pointing to the possibility of a violent reaction against the living Chinese diaspora. in Africa. continent.
A second letter obtained by UN officials and signed by a group called the African Community in Guangzhou accused China of “being at war” with Africa. “The inhumane treatment, hatred and absolute discrimination of Africans that is currently taking place in Guangzhou, China is beyond all expression,” he said.
Shopping center in Guangzhou. A Chadian man who worked in the Chinese city said that authorities had told him to quarantine for 14 days because he was African © Fred Dufour / AFP / Getty
In Guangzhou, Alush, a businessman from Chad, said he had not left town in four months and twice tested negative for coronavirus. However, the Chinese authorities told him to quarantine for 14 days because he was African, he said. “I am really sad, I don’t get it,” he told the FT. “I have my own company here, I pay my taxes, I have a work permit. It just isn’t right how they’re treating us. “
A Nigerian businessman who declined to give his name said he had been evicted from his apartment and refused to enter a local supermarket when he tried to buy food and water. “I feel like the Chinese hate blacks,” he said. “Not everyone hates us, I have some very nice Chinese friends who are like brothers, but I hear people call me racial slurs on the subway, in shopping malls, on the streets.”
“Many of my African friends in Guangzhou say they want to return to Africa once the quarantine measures are lifted,” he said.
McDonald’s admitted an incident in which a black person was denied service, saying that he apologized without reservation and that he was conducting diversity and inclusion training. “Currently, all customers are welcome to all of our restaurants after a body temperature check with a health QR code issued by the local government,” he said.
Africans have complained about experiencing racism in China. In 2018, China’s national broadcaster televised a black-face sketch during the annual Spring Festival gala, the most-watched television show in the world. On another occasion, a Chinese brand of laundry detergent had to apologize after launching an ad showing a black man “washed” in a lighter-skinned Asian man in a washing machine.
But recent events ran the risk of lasting damage, experts said, to a political, commercial and cultural relationship that has become increasingly important to China and Africa.
In several African capitals, ministers reacted angrily, breaking a normal taboo against open criticism of China, which is a major lender to many African governments. Between 2000 and 2018, Chinese institutions, including the China Development Bank, loaned approximately $ 152 billion to 48 African states, according to the China Africa Research Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
The Chinese ambassadors in Abuja in Nigeria and Accra in Ghana were among those summoned by their respective host governments to give an explanation. In Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Moussa Faki, chairman of the African Union Commission, said he had “invited” the Chinese ambassador to the AU to express “our extreme concern”.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said Beijing was taking the allegations seriously. The Foreign Ministry would continue “close communication with the Guangdong authorities and continue to respond to reasonable concerns and legitimate appeals from the African side,” he said. The Chinese, he added, viewed Africans as “brothers and partners.”
A senior official in East Africa said many African governments felt betrayed as Beijing had specifically asked them not to repatriate their citizens when the coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan. “There was a strong campaign by the Chinese themselves to ask the Africans not to panic and to keep their students and merchants there,” said the official, who asked not to be identified by name. “Then there is a reaction: how can you do this to us?”
Eric Olander, managing editor of the China Africa Project website, said the events of the past few days “have led to an unprecedented breakdown in relations between China and Africa.” In recent weeks, China had presented itself as a major benefactor for Africa, making large donations of medical supplies, such as masks and test kits sent by Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba.
But, Mr. Olander said, Beijing was in danger of losing that goodwill. “The Chinese side is fast running out to find a way out before sentiment about African social media metastasis and further limits African leaders’ options to move forward and focus on more pressing national priorities with the Chinese, such as easing Debt”.
Additional report from Qianer Liu in Shenzhen
