Paul Biya Courts China

It is being reported in Cameroon that Biya will be making an official visit to China on July 20. Some have indicated that Biya is courting China because he is being pressured by his masters in the West not to run for reelection this year. It should be noted that Biya has not said that he is going to run for reelection, even though the election actually takes place in about four months. One can only guess the date because Biya has not divulged that either. He is presently campaigning by stealth through his surrogates like the ministers, divisional officers, governors, etc. Biya does not campaign himself; he only wins elections. Thus, even though it is true that he is now courting China in order to look for a new foreign master who would legitimate his power in Cameroon, it is also true that he prefers to be related to China because China, like Cameroon, is a country in which elections do not matter. The ruling elite of the Communist Party take turns electing themselves to power and sending those who do not agree with them to prison. China, like Cameroon, is a police state. Biya will be at home with how the Chinese government does business rather than with the West who, from time to time, pays lip-service to something called democracy and transparency

Apart from the fact that Biya is looking for a new master in China, one should also wonder what is meant when it is stated that he is making an official visit to China. What, for example, does he intend to discuss with officials in China? Cameroonians are always left in the dark whenever Biya chooses to go out of the country. Often we hear that he is either going for a private or official visit but the real purpose of the visit is often left a mystery. Does Biya not think that we have the right to know what he is up to? Who is he going to be meeting in China and what are they going to be discussing?

Further, it must be pointed out that even though Biya's visit is seen as a big deal in Cameroon, it is actually not a big deal in China. Cameroon is not among the African countries which China respects. In fact, the dilapidation of the Cameroon embassy in China shows the low status which Cameroon has in that country. So Biya's presence there is not going to make news. It is well known that Biya uses the names of foreign entities to bamboozle Cameroonians. China is just one such entity. It may seem to Cameroonians that Biya's trip to China is important; in China, however, it is no big deal.