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The new scramble for Africa
非洲新抢夺战
This time, the winners could be Africans themselves
这一次，赢家可能是非洲人
The first great surge of foreign interest in Africa, dubbed the “scramble”, was when 19th-century European colonists carved up the continent and seized Africans’ land. The second was during the cold war, when East and West vied for the allegiance of newly independent African states; the Soviet Union backed Marxist tyrants while America propped up despots who claimed to believe in capitalism. A third surge, now under way, is more benign. Outsiders have noticed that the continent is important and becoming more so, not least because of its growing share of the global population (by 2025 the UN predicts that there will be more Africans than Chinese people). Governments and businesses from all around the world are rushing to strengthen diplomatic, strategic and commercial ties. This creates vast opportunities. If Africa handles the new scramble wisely, the main winners will be Africans themselves.
19世纪，欧洲殖民者瓜分非洲大陆，夺取了非洲人的土地，这是第一次外国对非洲兴趣激增，被称为“抢夺”。第二次发生在冷战期间，东西方抢夺新独立的非洲国家的支持；苏联支持信奉马克思主义的暴君，美国扶持自称信奉资本主义的专制者。而目前正在进行的第三次争夺，相比之前更为温和。外界已经注意到，非洲大陆很重要，而且越来越重要，尤其是因为非洲在全球人口中所占的比例越来越大（根据联合国预测，到2025年，非洲人口将超过中国人口）。世界各国政府和企业都急于加强和非洲的外交、战略和商业纽带。这创造了巨大的机遇。如果非洲巧妙地处理好这场新的争夺，那么最大的赢家将是非洲人自己。
The extent of foreign engagement is unprecedented. Start with diplomacy. From 2010 to 2016 more than 320 embassies were opened in Africa, probably the biggest embassy building boom anywhere, ever. Turkey alone opened 26. Last year India announced it would open 18. Military ties are deepening, too. America and France are lending muscle and technology to the struggle against jihadism in the Sahel. China is now the biggest arms seller to sub-Saharan Africa and has defence-technology ties with 45 countries. Russia has signed 19 military deals with African states since 2014. Oil-rich Arab states are building bases on the Horn of Africa and hiring African mercenaries.
外国在非洲的参与程度前所未有。从外交开始。从2010年到2016年，各国在非洲开设了320多个大使馆，这可能是史上最大的大使馆建设潮。仅土耳其一国就开设26个大使馆。去年，印度宣布将开设18个。军事关系也在不断深化。美国和法国正在为萨赫勒地区打击圣战主义的斗争提供力量和技术。中国现在是撒哈拉以南非洲地区最大的武器出口国，与45个国家建立了防务技术关系。自2014年以来，俄罗斯与非洲国家签署了19项军事协议。石油资源丰富的阿拉伯国家正在非洲之角建立基地，雇佣非洲雇佣兵。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
