Speaking at the Forum on China Africa Cooperation in South Africa, Xi outlined 10 areas that will receive funding including infrastructure projects, aid for drought-stricken countries and thousands of scholarships for African students.
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Xi announced plans to help African countries improve agriculture through large-scale farming and fight diseases by establishing an African Centre for Disease Control, adding that China had also helped fight an Ebola outbreak in West Africa. China’s imports of African raw materials have dramatically declined since late last year, and Chinese investment in Africa has dropped by 40 per cent in the first half of this year.
China would cancel existing debts with zero interest loans for least developed countries that mature by end 2015, he said.
Another advantage, he said, was the fact that China and African countries share the advantage of having largely youthful populations which translates into enormous potential, both as markets and as producers as well.
The Chinese leader also urged China and Africa to join efforts to turn their friendly ties into fresh impetus for cooperation and development, and transform Africa’s rich natural and human resources into greater strength for economic development and more benefits for the people.
The two-day FOCAC meeting is the second time China has brought together African leaders since the forum was launched in Beijing in 2000.
China’s pledge “is not enough, but it’s a good start”, he said.
The commitments made by Xi “is a clear indication that China is committed to Africa’s development agenda on the basis of a win-win partnership”, Kenyatta told reporters at the summit on Saturday.
Xi said the two documents would inject fresh impetus into the comprehensive development of China-Africa relations, and provide strong guidance and political guarantee for the two sides to conduct mutually-beneficial cooperation in more areas and on higher levels.
“The strategic partnership and cooperation between Africa and the People’s Republic of China is an important instrument towards the achievement of our development goals”.
“The late Nelson Mandela of South Africa once said: ‘We stand at the dawn of an African century, a century where Africa will take its rightful place among the nations of the world'”.
In his speech, Xi said Africa’s rapid development momentum is “irresistible”, as African countries accelerate industrialisation and seek independent and sustainable development.
Even as its economy slows, China has wowed its African allies with an impressive display of political promises and a staggering $60-billion (U.S.) in new financial support.
Mugabe, whose government signed 10 economic accords with China this week including on expanding Zimbabwe’s largest thermal power plant, praised Beijing’s role in Africa, contrasting it favourably with that of Western nations.
Unless South Africa added more value to its exports to China, the trade gap would continue to widen as 80 percent of South Africa’s exports to China were mineral commodities.
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“We are witnessing increasing incidents of terrorism in parts of our continent, France and elsewhere”, said Zuma in Sandton, yesterday.
