Growth path in Africa

Clockwise from top: Ahmed Shide, Ethiopian state minister of finance and economic development; Gong Jianzhong, China's ambassador to Ghana; Ngari Gituku, vice-chairman of the Kenya China Friendship Association. Photos by Feng Yongbin / China Daily

Indeed, the same research projected that African countries would grow faster than Asian ones in the five years to 2015. While Africa may be trying to catch up with China, parts of Asia and even the developed nations of the West, it does not necessarily mean that one development model will suit all.

There are huge differences among the 54 countries that make up the continent - some are rich in resources; some have coastlines, making it easier to trade; and some, usually the most disadvantaged, are landlocked and without resources.

Following on the tail of the Asian Tigers would be difficult for many African countries.

Economies like China, Singapore and South Korea all built their initial success on exporting low-priced manufacturing goods.

In China's case, this has been made possible by an abundant supply of labor, which until recently had kept wages relatively low. China's population of 1.3 billion is, in fact, higher than the 1 billion of all the African countries combined.

Many African countries are resource-rich, whether it be in oil, copper or diamonds, which most Asian countries, including China, lack.

Having resources has also been a curse as well as a benefit to many African countries, making them vulnerable to international commodity prices as well as exploitation.

About 4,000 kilometers to the west of Ethiopia, Ghana's economy is set to be transformed by the discovery of oil, which was found off the coast near the city of Takoradi in 2007. The government's own forecast is that oil will more than double GDP growth, from 5 to 12 percent, this year.

Some have argued that far from following a manufacturing-led model of development, Ghana should now become a resources and service-sector-led economy and promote itself as a major regional banking and financial center of West Africa.

Hanna Tetteh, the country's charismatic and forceful 45-year-old minister for trade and finance, insists that while financial services will be an important future dynamo for the economy, it will be impossible to bypass the manufacturing stage.

"We have moved from agrarian to mixed. Manufacturing is not out of the equation, but it is only part of the economy," she says.

Gong Jianzhong, China's urbane and quietly spoken ambassador in Accra, believes the idea that Africa should follow any sort of China or Asian model is inappropriate.

"I disagree with the term 'China model'. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is only suitable for China, and it does not mean it is universal. There is no way that China will export its model. Africa needs to go its own way and do the things which are suitable for its own people."

Gong was speaking in his embassy compound in the baking hot West African city, which, with its plush hotels, supermarkets and new roads, is now visibly affluent.

"I think Africa has actually to learn from our mistakes. For the last 30 years the economy has been booming but at a huge cost to the environment. I was brought up in the countryside, and you could swim and drink water from the rivers. Nobody can do this today," he says.

Whatever development path African countries are taking, few would deny the rapid progress that has taken place over the past two decades.

At the turn of the millennium, The Economist controversially described Africa on its front cover as The Hopeless Continent, but came up with the more optimistic cover line The Hopeful Continent last year.