this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2024

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Chinese-made phones are calling the shots in Africa as they beat global giants Samsung and Apple (www.scmp.com)

submitted 9 months ago by L4s to c/technology

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Chinese-made phones are calling the shots in Africa as they beat global giants Samsung and Apple::undefined

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[–] qooqie 34 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Honestly, I’m not surprised considering China has invested a lot into exploiting African resources. China saw a huge market most of the west was ignoring and like we exploited China, China will do the same to Africa.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago

Like how the kid who gets abused by his parents becomes a schoolyard bully. The cycle of exploitation and abuse continues

[+] [email protected] -15 points 9 months ago (2 children)

We exploit Africa. China has begun to take up Western marketshare in Africa because they're less exploitative and offer a better deal.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I don’t know about them being less exploitative, but I’m sure they’re offering a better deal to steal the market share.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

I don’t have one at hand right now but back on reddit I saw a couple bootleg videos of Chinese foremen in in Africa, overseeing black laborers.

They act just as colonial as the Europeans back in the day, one of the videos shows an overseer literally lashing some poor underperformer.

I would also remind everyone that virtually all asian cultures are more or less overtly racist towards black or generally dark skinned people. All China is doing in Africa is pursuing its geopolitical and strategic interests.

Different exploiters, same exploitation. Well, perhaps a bit more insidious because their strategy is to undercut the market, saturate it with Chinese (-controlled) technology and infrastructure, and in the process create resource rich debtors with critical infrastructure under implicit control of the chinese government.

[–] Warl0k3 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Compared to historical treatment of africa, no argument china is far better. Compared to modern treatment, nah they're just the same as the rest of us bastards.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

A comforting lie.

The IMF loots countries that take loans and in contrast China forgives loans. The reason Africa is aligning more with China is because they're getting a better deal. If they really were just the same as the West then China wouldn't be winning the continent.

[–] NateNate60 11 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Part of the reason also has to do with the fact that China will write loans for stupid crap when Western banks and the IMF won't. You want a loan to build a giant statue in the middle of the desert? Chinese banks have got you covered. Western banks will laugh you out the door. Loan to build a new train line? Western banks want assessments, revenue estimates, feasibility studies, and ten other things. Chinese banks will ask "Are you going to hire a Chinese contractor to build it?" and if the answer is yes, they'll write the loan.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

This isn't as absurd as it looks.

If we assume the loans will implode either way, the Chinese model at least funnels some of the money back to their own contractors, and ends with some goodwill and infrastructure. It's an aid programme with extra steps.

I wonder if the western model optimizes for loans doomed to fail to use them as a lever to extract structural and political concessions, or if it's just a happy accident.

[–] NateNate60 1 points 9 months ago

Western banks are privately held so they are only interested in profit. Western governments rarely give big loans to developing countries (except indirectly through institutions like the IMF), but China does, through its state-owned banks.

In many cases, Western banks gamble on junk loans unlikely to be repaid written to these countries and cry to their governments when they lose. Then these governments then pressure the debtor countries to try and extract payment.

I notice that Western nations like to keep these loans separate from aid. If the goal is to make money, it's called a loan, and if the goal is to help out, it's called foreign aid. China realised there's no particular reason to do this and mixes them freely so it has the flexibility to treat it as a loan that needs to be repaid when that suits them or treat it as aid that will be forgiven.

Both are forms of economic colonialism in my book. Just slightly different modus operandi.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago

Chinese phones are generally pretty good and cost a lot less so it's not surprising at all.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (2 children)

the reason Africa is more aligned with china is that china does not care about working with dictators they will give loans even if they know that it will never be payed back and have less conditions so its easier to get. china represent itself as if its better than the west because communism and being against imperialism but do the exact same thing or even worse then what the west ever did in modern day.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm pretty sure this case is because China makes more $5 phones.

I'm not sure the exact price points, but Chinese manufacturers have the super budget market because their country is one of the biggest markets for them, they have the labor that's manufacturing them for everyone else, and they don't have the extra hoops to jump through that international companies do.

[–] nexusband 1 points 9 months ago

And they generally get subsidized...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

working with dictators is the favourite pastime of Western 'democracies'. There are multiple US-backed coups in my countries past.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago

then china is not better is it.because they should know better but do same or worse. maybe you can get your next coups backed by china.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago

Belt and roaded

[–] PoliticallyIncorrect 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Reading and posting this from my Chinese brand phone of around 100 bucks with 8GB of physical RAM+8GB of virtual RAM and 256GB of ROM. So I can say Chinese phones are pretty good TBH at least for a normal phone use, if you wanna play fancy games then they isn't for you.

At least not the 100ish bucks ones.

God bless Mao Zedong 🙏🙏.

Edit: I think we have to notice the difference between Chinese-made phones and Chinese-brand phones, all phones are made in China but no all are Chinese brand.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Its success has been attributed to superior marketing and understanding consumer needs, such as making dual SIM card phones and camera phones better calibrated for darker skin tones

Wait, does camera apps still have problem with darker skin tones?

[–] LucasWaffyWaf 2 points 9 months ago

Shot in the dark, prolly makes people look too dark. I offer vacation photos on the phones of the guests I give tours to, and a lot of the phone cameras I've used tend to make dark skinned folks too dark.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

I used One Plus in the past. It was better than the iPhone my employer gave me.