China has committed to providing Africa with $60 billion in development aid and loans in the next three years, President Xi Jinping said Friday at the opening of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) here.
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JOHANNESBURG South Africa (Xinhua) – China and Africa have always been a community of common destiny, with the same historical experiences and the same course of struggle having made the two peoples forge profound friendship, Chinese President Xi Jinping said here Friday.
Minister Davies said this during the closing session of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Business Forum held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
Mugabe said China’s trade with Africa was set to rise from $220 billion a year ago to $400 billion in 2020 and would continue to rise rapidly through the Continental Free Trade Agreement and the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement which Africa was establishing.
President Xi’s plan focused on support in industrialization, infrastructure development, financial support, agriculture, trade and investment, environmental conservation, health and peace building.
“Africa is facing a deficit in infrastructure and China’s decision to help in infrastructure development is welcome”.
She said China’s measures in supporting Africa development as announced answered the expectation of African countries in a win-win situation. Critics say these projects have done little to develop local economies and that China is exploiting the region while ignoring conflict human rights abuses. “If they have ears to listen, let them hear”.
“There is a sense that African leaders seek economic empowerment, not simply reliance, from their relationship with China”, said Lyle Morris, China analyst at the RAND Corporation in California.
According to the Nigerian leader, “Africa expects Chinese investment flows to the real sector of our economies to promote African enterprises”.
At the 5th ministerial conference of FOCAC in 2012, the then Chinese President Hu Jintao announced cooperation in the fields of investment and financing, aid and livelihood, integration of Africa, non-governmental contact, peace and security.
The five pillars include consolidating political mutual trust, striving for win-win economic cooperation, enhancing exchanges and learning from each other’s cultures, helping each other in security, and cementing unity and coordination on global affairs.
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Commenting on Xi’s plans, Standard Bank China analyst Jeremy Stevens said: “I think it’s significant in the sense that it confirms China’s longstanding agenda on the continent … despite the economic difficulties (in China)”. “We should respect each other’s choice of development paths and not impose our own will on the other”. This included inadequate infrastructure, a lack of professional and skilled personnel, and a shortage of funding.
