“We are not in any race or competition with China or any other country. The desire of India and Africa to work together is not new,” Singh said. “We are willing to offer whatever help we can to build capabilities in Africa. We share a colonial past and have been partners for a long time.”

Privately, however, policymakers acknowledge that India must close the gap between itself and China. And that will be a Herculean task. India’s trade with Africa soared from $967 million in 1991 to $30 billion in 2007 and 2008, but still lags Africa-China trade - estimated at $55 billion. African exports to India grew 14% between 1999 and 2004, but African exports to China jumped 48%.

While India clearly lags China significantly in terms of infrastructure, trade, and investment dealings with Africa, that doesn’t mean it’s “game over.” In fact, India could well find opportunities to build on the Chinese developments already in place.

“Anyone who has lived in both India and China will agree that the Chinese have been far more successful at creating mass urban and cross-country infrastructure,” said Dr. Aditya Dev Sood of the Center for Knowledge Societies. “On the other hand, just having quality infrastructure is not enough for Africa - the continent needs jobs, and that’s something Indian service sector companies can provide.”

The surge in development has opened the door for Indian multinationals like Videocon Industries Ltd., Suzion Energy Ltd., and The Indian Hotels Company to move parts of their businesses to Africa, bringing jobs and business-development expertise with them.

Tata Motors Ltd. (TTM) plans to make trucks and buses in South Africa. The company also anticipates the assembly of pickup trucks in Senegal.

“Africa is a key market for Tata Motors,” Managing Director Ravi Kant said at the India-Africa Summit. “We are supplying trucks and buses for public transport and one opportunity could be for individual transport… Nano could fit in that market.”

The company’s recently unveiled Nano is the world’s most affordable passenger car at $2,500.

Carving Up Africa’s Oil Fields

Regardless of the recent forays made into Africa by India and China, oil seems to be the principal interest for both parties. China, already the world’s third-largest user of oil, is expected to see its average annual demand grow 3.3% a year from 2010 to 2020. And the International Energy Agency says India will overtake the United States, Japan, and China as the world’s leading net importer of oil by 2025.

“India is in all the same countries as China, including Sudan [but] it’s just below the radar because its investments are so much smaller,” Aves said.
Earlier this week, for instance, China and India both agreed to build oil refineries in Nigeria, rather than just buying crude from that country for export back to their home markets.

Three prominent Chinese companies operating in Nigeria - CNPC Ltd., Sinopec and CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) - “have together committed themselves to make available a refinery” in the southern delta region, Tony Chukwuemeke, head of Nigeria’s Department of Petroleum Resources, told the Associated Press.

“I cannot tell you its capacity but it’s in the neighborhood of 450,000 barrels per day,” he said. “We are just beginning a discussion.”

Nigeria has a similar cooperation agreement with India to establish another export-oriented refinery. Chukwuemeke said Indian oil and gas group ONGC, teamed with steel giant ArcelorMittal (MT), “have some oil blocks from Nigeria in the deep offshore and for that they have committed to build a refinery in Nigeria.”

India currently imports 11% of its oil from Nigeria and is moving in on Angola and the Sudan. India recently completed a $200 million pipeline that links Khartoum and Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

Still, China became the biggest investor in the Sudan after commissioning the construction of a 900-mile oil pipeline expected to cost about $16 billion. Sudan is China’s fourth-largest provider of crude, sending 60% of its supply to the Asian nation.

Another 14% of China’s oil imports come from Angola, where a $1.6 billion deal to develop a new field was signed last May. China also extended $4.5 billion in credit to Angola in the past four years according to the nation’s Finance Minister, Jose Pedro. A new line of credit worth $500 was negotiated with China in 2007.

Regardless of which country ends up with a bigger stake in the continent, Africa appears to be the biggest winner so far with two of the world’s fastest-growing economies competing to infuse the region with jobs, capital, and infrastructure.

Western countries may rail against Beijing’s business practices, but the fact is that Africa needs trade and - in contrast to Western capital - China’s cash arrives quickly and with no colonial hangover and no complex relationship of resentment.

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