New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sharply rebuked members of both major parties on Monday, saying that the country could make significant progress on gun control if only politicians would do what they had promised to do.

"We don't have to break new ground here," he said on Monday's Morning Joe. "All we've got to do is follow the promises that were made by the elected officials back when they were pandering and said, 'We're going to fix this problem.'"

The main thing that was required, he said, was enforcement the laws already on the books. "Plug the one or two loopholes in the laws they already passed and then fund the enforcement of it," he said. "We haven't had the head of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms because the President can't get anybody through Congress. We don't have any monies to go and enforce the laws. The states aren't putting data into the database."

Bloomberg dismissed the possibility that tougher gun control enforcement would be a political liability. "I think there is a perception among the political world that the NRA has more power than the American people. I don't believe that," he said.

In fact, he argued, following the NRA's wishes might be more politically damaging. "At the state and federal level, in the executive and legislative branches, they think that the NRA is going to control their destiny," he said. "And I think maybe in a perverse way, the NRA is going to control their destiny to their downfall.

Since the shooting in Aurora, Colorado on Friday, Bloomberg has been calling for action on gun control. Just hours after the shooting, he criticized both Obama and Romney for what he said was a failure to lead on the issue. On Face the Nation, he said that Obama "has spent the last three years trying to avoid the issue." "This really is an enormous problem for the country, and it's up to these two presidential candidates," he went on. "They want to lead this country, and they've said things before that they're in favor of banning things like assault weapons. Where are they now and why don't they stand up?

Bloomberg is the co-founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an association of over 600 pro-gun control mayors.

China's rush for resources in Africa is good for both parties, argues the author of a new book about Beijing's "global shopping spree."

"The approach has been incredibly symbiotic," said Dambisa Moyo, author of Winner Take All: China's Race For Resources and What It Means for the World on Wednesday's edition of Morning Joe. She went on:

It's been incredibly encompassing. So they go to these countries, and they offer them what these countries want in return for gaining or accessing these resources. And it works beautifully. A Pew survey a few years ago went to Africa and asked the Africans, "What do you think of the Chinese? Do you like them? Do you hate them? And how do you think of them compared to the Americans?"

And by wide margins—55%, 98%—the Africans said, "We love the Chinese. They're improving our livelihoods, this is really meaningfully important, and by the way, they're better than the Americans."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, among others, has warned that China's activity in Africa may be the harbinger of a "new colonialism" that would benefit the leaders of African countries while leaving ordinary citizens behind. Moyo dismissed such concerns, saying of China, "I think they have absolutely no interest in acquiring political power at this time. ... This is all about economics."

has struck bargains across Africa to secure crude oil, minerals, and metals in exchange for infrastructure built by Chinese companies. Hence, the import of Chinese labour into a continent not lacking in able-bodied workers. Indeed, within a mere decade, more Chinese have come to live in Africa than there are Europeans on the continent, even after many centuries of European colonial and neocolonial rule. With apartheid-style practices – including the gunning down of local workers by a Chinese manager in Zambia – Chinese managers impose appalling working conditions on their African employees.

"[I]n perpetuating a partnership with the same breed of corrupt leaders that colluded with Africa's previous invaders and exploiters," Mbaye concludes, "the Chinese have forgotten that Africans, albeit often their own worst enemies, have nonetheless gained the upper hand over their foes in the end."