An international trade expert and Investec strategist, Power said trade between Africa and Asia, especially China, is based on a win-win principle, contrary to the European "scramble for Africa" that hit the continent centuries ago. Speaking at Investec's Chairman's annual dinner at Gaborone International Convention Centre, the trade strategist challenged the perceived 'anti imperialist' tendencies, that China and India would display when exploiting African resources. "The new scramble for Africa by the Chinese is going to benefit Africa more than it did during Europe's scramble for Africa. Asia has an extraordinary appetite for Africa's raw materials," Power said. Labelling the new scramble for Africa as "the great game of the 21st century," Power said China and India would be the dominant players on African grounds. Cabinet members, MPs, business people, corporate leaders and senior government officials attended the event. An upbeat Power announced that China has a grand development strategy for Africa much different from the type introduced by the western world. "In 2006, China formalised the Africa Policy on Trade," he said. "Though it is a long document, I can summarise the report as follows: Let's trade. Don't criticise our policies. We won't criticise yours," Power said. He argued that Asian interests in Africa are historical contrary to views held by Eurocentric history books. "China had long discovered Africa. India discovered Africa long before Vasco Da Gama. I know this is different from what the history books will tell you," he chided. Africa's vast raw materials; oil in West Africa and Southern Africa, timber in Central Africa and minerals in Southern Africa have Asia, especially China, salivating. This year, Chinese President, Hu Jintao's frequent visits to Africa would perhaps explain the East Asian emerging economy's hunger for African resources. Jintao recently visited South Africa, Angola, Sudan, Congo, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. Power further noted that in 2005, China consumed 47 percent of global cement owing to a boom in the construction sector. This happened amid shrinks in global construction. "As the fourth largest country in the world, China will overtake Germany before 2008. This country is thirsty for African raw materials," he said, predicting that more is yet to come, as China is becoming more capital intensive. The analyst - cum - strategist further predicts a much brighter Chinese economic outlook. "The sun is setting on the old order as Asia takes over." His prediction comes handy. By the year 2050, he says, the European Union's (EU's) Gross Domestic Product will have shrunk hopelessly by 15 percent, while that of China will grow exponentially to a record high of 45 percent. China's demand for metals, especially copper and steel, surpasses that of any other country in the world. China is expected to gobble up more than 500 million tones of steel next year. As if his presentation was an attack on the West, Power, a South African citizen who pursued his studies at Oxford, Canada and South Africa said as the world's second consumer of oil, China would have surpassed the US in the near future. The country currently consumes 25 percent of the world's production. On minerals, he said India is the largest consumer of gold, while the Chinese rising middle class would consume about 80 percent of world's diamonds in the near future. Botswana stands to benefit from Asia's insatiable appetite for minerals, especially diamonds. Power noted that the relocation of a diamond-trading factory from London to Gaborone would spark a new love affair between Beijing and Gaborone. But in an exclusive interview with Monitor, after his presentation, Power was at pains trying to elaborate how Africa would benefit from the perceived Chinese appetite. He however maintained that China's interest in Africa is based on pure trade. China's interest in Africa had at some stage raised eyebrows among EU leaders who charged that China protects "rogue states" such as Zimbabwe. Brussels had also argued that Beijing's interest in Africa is born out of greed and that China does not have interest in improving human rights, good governance and does not support the rule of law.