Chinese investment overseas is making headlines again after Guinea’s junta yesterday announced a multi-billion dollar deal with a Chinese company was still going ahead, despite international criticism of its violent crackdown on unarmed demonstrators, which claimed dozens of lives.

If the deal does proceed, it would be a major boost for a recently installed military government that is seeking legitimacy. But it risks clashing with the tough position taken by a contact group that includes the African Union and United Nations, which has called for targeted sanctions.

For African governments, such deals can look like a win-win situation—rapidly growing China is desperate for resources that these nations are happy to supply. And Rwandan President Paul Kagame was half right when he warned this week that ‘a fundamental problem with development aid [is that it] leads to dependence, the desire of the giving countries to control the receiving countries’, though I think the latter half of that statement smacks of some of the paranoia that still haunts some former colonial powers on the continent.

But the subtext to this is that China’s assistance comes without the awkward strings attached that Western aid often comes with, strings that although in the short term may seem annoying and inconvenient often end up encouraging better governance, which has its own benefits for growth.

The risks of the lack of caution among some African leaders in embracing Chinese investment were laid bare earlier this year in a report based on 5 years of research by the African Labour Research Network Finland, which found that although government to government relations often prosper under these deals, the workers on the ground have been suffering from significant violations of working standards laid out by the International Labour Organisation.

And such reports also damage China’s efforts to develop its image as a responsible stakeholder. I’m not saying that free market approaches to lifting significant numbers of Africans out of poverty don’t work—they can and often do. But in their short term rush to embrace, Chinese and African leaders should think about the long term consequences for both of them.

China’s 60^th anniversary has come and gone. And surely, those who made their way out to take part in the main festivities have gone home with some precious memories. And the thought that some may have left with souvenirs marking the event reminded me of the fake commemorative coins that caused a ripple of a scandal back in August.

Supposedly issued by the People's Bank of China, the set of 6 coins was being sold for about $80 US; the Chinese government promptly issued a public warning about the scam. But if the buyer remains unaware, does it really matter?

Ethical ‘souvenir-ing’ is still something to think about in Asia. Besides the most obvious—unethical purchasing of illegal exotic animal parts—there are many other cases where a well-meant or innocent purchase could have dark or complicated issues connected.

Activists at the summer Beijing Olympics urged visitors to avoid buying jewelry and souvenirs made of Burmese ‘blood Jade,’ claiming that, ‘the military-controlled industry is plagued with deplorable working conditions…HIV/AIDS epidemic, and environmental destruction.’ (Article: ‘BURMA/CHINA: Avoid 'Blood Jade' Olympic Souvenirs - Activists’) Another recent article mentions Burmese Jade as an industry that utilizes child labor. (AFP: ‘Porn, fireworks, diamonds made with child labor: US’)

In Cambodia, there has reportedly been a trend of collecting old landmines as souvenirs. Apparently locals and visitors alike, including humanitarian workers, take and display parts of mines in their homes and offices. They can also be used as ashtrays, paperweights and doorstops. Also, official landmine zone warning signs and images (depicting a skull and bones) are now often used to decorate anything from office walls to t-shirts. This is clearly worrisome on a number of levels.

And there are other ethical issues to be considered in Asia, such as the sale of war-themed paraphernalia in Vietnam, that I’ll discuss in a future post.

The huge Chinese National Day parade has ended in style. Just a couple of hours ago, tens of thousands of colorful balloons were reportedly released into the sky to close the official festivities at Tiananmen Square.

And in the meantime, we are left imagining the sorts of unofficial celebrating that could be going on as the nation marks the big 6-0. Images of beer kegs being cracked open at boisterous parties across China, like a US July 4^th, are a bit far-fetched perhaps…or are they?

Some studies on global beer consumption numbers, such as one conducted by Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co., report that China’s beer consumption has topped the global chart for years.

A recent article in the Beijing Review confirms this:

“China's beer output grew 6 percent year on year to 20.5 million kiloliters in the first half of 2009, leading to the country's eighth straight title as the world's largest beer producer and consumer.”

Also noted is that, “A record 3.7 million tourists were attracted to Qingdao for this year's 19th Qingdao International Beer Festival. Visitors drank 1,065 tons of beer.”

There must be something about that beer to manage a turnout like that. The most popular brands of domestic brew are Tsingtao and Zhujiang – and if you manage to find a bottle in your area, that means there’s still time to take part in the festivities.   

Chinese officials must have been delighted with the weather today for the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic, with sunshine apparently beaming down on the largest-ever parade of its military hardware.

Security was extremely tight, with potential flashpoints like Tibet apparently receiving extra attention. These measures extended to the Internet, with IDG News’ Owen Fletcher reporting that they included:

“[A] crackdown this month on online tools that help users circumvent the ‘Great Firewall,’ the set of technical measures China uses to filter the Internet, according to providers of the tools.”

And, according to our China correspondent, Kathleen McLaughlin, the triumph over ‘all sorts of difficulties’ that President Hu Jintao talked about today when addressing the parade from the top of Tiananmen Gate also includes victory over mother nature.

“Just twelve hours before the People's Republic of China's 60th birthday party was slated to begin, Beijing's skies were thick with soupy smog. But when the day broke over Tiananmen Square and the People's Liberation Army began its massive show of hardware and patriotism, skies were clear and blue,” she said.

“Nothing was left to chance for the 60th anniversary party, not even the weather. State media says Chinese military fired rain-making agents into the clouds the night before to create a cleansing storm. It worked, and the brilliant blue skies provided a stunning backdrop to the parade, which seemed at times a spectacle choreographed by North Koreans.

Along with the latest in military hardware, including missiles that can reach the United States, the three-plus hour parade included 60 floats, happy ethnic minorities and singing schoolchildren. Were one to view China only through its National Day parade, it might indeed seem a harmonious society.”

As China busies itself preparing for tomorrow’s 60^th anniversary celebrations, one of its most notorious artists is recovering from brain surgery in a hospital bed in Munich.

Ai Weiwei was reportedly brutalized and detained by Beijing police back in August for his presence at a friend’s trial. It is not known whether the brain hemorrhage is linked to his injuries from that incident.

Notable Ai Weiwei facts:

-He is a conceptual artist, photographer, architectural designer and outspoken activist.

-Ai maintains five blogs and a Twitter account with over 8000 followers. He has said of his intentions: ‘I do my blog because this is the only possible channel through which a person can express a personal opinion in China.’

-The Beijing native spent the 1980s and early 90s living in the US and attended the prestigious Parsons School of Design in NY.

-He was raised in a labour camp when his father, poet Ai Qing was sentenced to ‘reeducation through labour’ by the government.

-Ai was the art consultant for the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics (although he has publicly voiced criticism for the event).

-Ai has posted scandalous semi-nude photos of himself to protest internet censorship (on his blog, now mysteriously inaccessible). Luckily (?), you can still view them here.