Africa could easily replace China as a manufacturing powerhouse.

If we could somehow shake off the colonial baggage

They’re the same thing.

That is a huge market with huge possibilities. Africa could easily replace China as a manufacturing powerhouse.

And China knows it, which is why “belt and road” is a thing.

In principle, I agree. However, in detail there are the same issues and more as when everything was outsourced to China:

• While there are stable and democratic states in Africa, a lot of the resources for manufacturing might will come from not so stable parts. I am looking at Congo as an example in particular.
• If you think about it, it is Colonialism 2.0: Cheap labourers turning basic resources into goods that are too expensive for them to buy themselves, which in return are sold for cheap in relation to local production costs in other countries.
• Exporting the environmentally harmful jobs elsewhere makes us look good on paper, but has drastic consequences for locals.

While China has until recently and to a significant extent been able to turn the second point around, the environment is where this whole plan might come apart before it even can be put into practice: The African continent is possibly most directly impacted by climate change. In the past, present and future. Don’t get me wrong: We are all going to suffer. But the African combination of geolocation and political and social stability is a powder keg.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not want to leave Africa and its people in the dust. If we can build a relationship on a basis of mutual trust and long-term benefit, let’s go for it. However, I am highly sceptical that in our current political climate the EU and its countries or, let alone companies, would be going to invest more than the absolute minimum to get any form of production going. And investing the absolute minimum to extract the most benefit equals colonialism 2.0.