HONG KONG — China found itself in the unwelcome WikiLeaks spotlight the week before last with sweeping claims against its "aggressive" policies in giving aid to Africa. Johnnie Carson, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Africa, called China "a pernicious economic competitor with no morals" about propping up rogue regimes.
"China is not in Africa for altruistic reasons," he said. "China is in Africa primarily for China. A secondary reason for China's presence is to secure votes in the United Nations from African countries," he claimed.
Other leaked cables allege bribery by China to win a contract to supply phone- monitoring equipment to Kenya, a country where Beijing's influence has grown rapidly, especially in infrastructure, security and intelligence projects.