Interview: “Cameroonians Need To Understand China’s Cooperation Models”

Why did you choose to publish the book, «Les investissements chinois au Cameroun: Comprendre et mieux appréhender le mode opératoire du secteur privé chinois en vue de booster le développement au Cameroun » this book at this time?
My book release is timely and relevant especially considering the fact that in the dynamic landscape of Sino-African relations, the year 2024 is unfolding as a pivotal chapter, marked by the impending Ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation gathering in September 2024 in China. FOCAC 2024 signifies not only a renewed commitment to enhancing collaboration between China and Africa, but also a year of looking ahead, where the outcomes of various initiatives in the Africa-China space are expected to be reviewed and the way forward discussed.
In the history of its development path, China used to “borrow ships to go to sea,” an idiom known in Mandarin as “????” (jiè chuán ch? h?i). It simply means borrowing ships from others to sail for mutual benefit and developing oneself. However, China went gradually from “borrowing ships to go to sea” to “building ships to go to sea” known in Mandarin as “????” (zào chuán ch? h?i? or adding value to Chinese products and promoting or boosting China’s development.

And for Africa in general and Cameroon in particular, it is time to better understand how China operates and how to maximize our gains through cooperation with China by "borrowing China’s ships to go to sea" and make appropriate and reasonable use of the advantages that come with such cooperation. While also "building our own ships to go to sea" to promote the development of Cameroon’s supply and industrial chain, and enhance the added value of Cameroonian products; which will contribute to uplifting the African agency in the long run.

What did you find out about Chinese private investments in Cameroon and Africa in general?
In recent years, with the rapid development and upgrading of China-Africa/ Cameroon economic and trade cooperation, some obvious trends have emerged in investments by Chinese Private Enterprises. Chinese Private Enterprises in Cameroon/Africa are transforming from Autonomous Investments to multi-agent coordination. These were largely autonomous in the early phase. However, the increasingly heated competition in Africa/Cameroon has placed higher requirements for strategic insight and adaptability on private entrepreneurs who wish to succeed in Cameroon. Though weaknesses like low efficiency and high risks of autonomous investment are having a growing impact.  
Chinese Private Enterprises in Cameroon/Africa are shifting from unilateral investments to bilateral cooperation. Private enterprises, in their earlier phase of investments in Africa, neglected cooperation with local enterprises, which consequently created obstacles to their integration into regional economic networks. In recent years, a bilateral strategic cooperation model emerged between Chinese Private Enterprises and African enterprises. This approach has helped Chinese enterprises to quickly adapt to the unfamiliar investment climate on the continent and obtain local assistance in terms of market information, personnel and industrial chain support.

About what percentage of total Chinese investments in Cameroon is the contribution of Chinese private investors? What does this mean for Cameroon’s economy and for Foreign Direct Investments, FDIs in Cameroon?
Over the past two decades, China has become Cameroon's leading trade partner with 25.8% market share in 2021, according to the National Institute of Statistics, NIS; and a big supplier with 17.5% market share in 2020; as well as a leading investor. According to the 2021 World Investment Report published by UNCTAD, the stock of FDI captured by Cameroon between 2000 and ...