The economic growth of China in the past few years has caused considerable excitement. This Asian power house has spread it’s influence particularly in Africa by investing in mines and other business ventures. Hopes have been raised for countries on the continent of Africa which has been viewed as an emerging market alongside Latin America, Central European and the middle East.

Now that the recession is upon us, it appears that this may be a time of reckoning for China which is now experiencing a slow down in it’s growth for the first time in seven years. The Central Bank of China cut interest rates for the fifth time in four months. The number of imports and exports has reduced. This could force a significant fall in commodity prices.

Those who applauded China as the rising giant are now raising concerns about the implications this may have on China and Africa at a time when the Chinese are moving towards changing the way they are viewed by the world.

Many in Africa remain skeptical about the effect the global economic crisis will have on their countries because it is widely believed that most companies on the continent do not have direct ties with stock markets in the west.

In his statement to Reuters news agency, the Finance Minister of Zambia said that he is “not worried about the recession in the West because I am looking to the East”. The situation in Zambia shows a different picture. The price of copper has fallen and there are signs that this has had an effect on the economy.

China is less likely to deliberately slow down it’s expansion. The demand for commodities such copper will continue to rise and there will be a price to pay for this continuous expansion in times like these. The Chinese could experience a boom-bust scenario similar to what Western nations went through during the 1980s recession.

In that recession, the western nations had indulged in excessive lending to developing countries with the expectation that commodity prices would rise. That of course never happened and the western countries suffered a banking crisis. Looking at the present scenario, commodity prices are less likely to rise and China is in for a rude awakening.

Aid to Africa is also likely to dwindle.The United Nations has actually raised it’s concerns regarding this. Philanthropists are tightening their belts by giving less or nothing at all. It all seems very grim. Many of us recall that the promises made by G8 nations in 2005 at Gleneagles aimed at debt relief have not been fulfilled. All that talk about making poverty history has come to nothing.

All this may sound mind numbingly boring but we have entered uncharted territory as many economists continue to say. Financial history shows that these things always sort themselves out. All we can do now is wait and see.