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The Rhodesia Herald,

November 19, 1965 

NEW YORK. — The key to the 47-47 split vote for Communist China’s admission to the United Nations was Africa.

A breakdown of the General Assembly vote yesterday showed that African countries accounted for most of the gains recorded in favour of seating the Peking regime.  African countries also were mainly responsible for the losses suffered by the US-led opposition.

One of the remarkable factors was that the gains and losses were not more substantial in view of the wholesale shifts that had taken place.

Twenty-one countries voted differently from the last vote on Red China two years ago. Some cancelled out others, and the number of abstentions increased from 12 to 20.

Communist China’s net gain was six votes over the 41 received in 1963. The opponents of seating Peking, on the other hand, saw their strength dwindle from 51 to 47 countries.

This was undoubtedly the biggest change of strength to take place in a similar period since the issue first came before the world organisation 16 years ago.

Two trends seemed to be apparent in the voting:

The unusually large number of countries shifting position indicated that the China question is getting a reappraisal in almost all parts of the world;

The substantial gain for Peking suggests the eventual seating of the Communist Chinese Government, even though a two-thirds majority is required. This could come as early as next year, especially if the Assembly decides to reverse the two-thirds majority rule, reports Iana-Reuter.

Our own US representative reports that the comments of diplomats after the voting, and comparisons between balloting in 1961 and 1963 and yesterday’s votes, indicated that the US delegation has scant reason for jubilation. The prevailing opinion, except for the Americans, was that Red China would be accepted next year.

A number of delegation heads said they believed the cost to the US of the victory would weigh the advantage gained by barring the Communists for another year.

They believed that US intransigence on admission had offended the non-aligned nations, the majority of which backed Peking’s entry and that the US had given the impression of being more interested in keeping Peking out than in seeking a negotiated settlement of the war in Vietnam in a UN that included the People’s Republic of China.

 LESSONS FOR TODAY

• Not only is the People’s Republic of China a member of the UN, but it is also one of the five permanent members of United Nations Security Council. It is also the second largest economy and has eradicated all forms of poverty.
• After Mao Zedong, a generation later, there is now President Xi Jinping, whose philosophy has been to further deepen cooperation and friendship in all spheres of life, between China and Africa.
• China offered various forms of assistance when African countries fought colonialism in the 1950s and 1960s, and a developing Africa has largely turned to China for more assistance and cooperation. This has deepened the Sino-Africa relations in “investments, loans, (and offered) an alternative path to economic development”.
• China has also assisted more than 40 members of the African Union with vaccines, at a time Europe and America are looking inward.
• The rise of the Sino-Africa relations is a major threat to former colonial masters who now accuse China of pillaging and plundering Africa’s natural resources (neo-colonialism), at the expense of the continent, the very things that they colonised the continent for, at the expense of human rights.
• According to historians, the relationship between Africa and China can be traced back to more than 2 000 years. Lu Shaye, cited by Ousman Murzik Kobo says, “archeological evidence from the ruins of ancient Zimbabwe and coastal eastern and southern Africa suggest that commercial ties existed between China and Africa before the common era.
• The Silk Trade Routes (roughly 200 BCE-200 CE) included parts of northern and eastern African coasts. And the visit of the Moroccan explorer, Ibn Battuta to China in the 14th century provides evidence of ongoing connections between the two regions,” whereas Europe and the United States of America came to the dining table over 500 years ago.”
• China and Russia should also assist African countries in ensuring that the UN is reformed, and that some African countries become members of the UNSC. Not only Africa, but other Non-Aligned member states as well.