“We have been very impressed by the speech of President Xi, because it is a very concrete proposal and a road map for the cooperation between China and Africa”, said Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, president of the Commission of the Economic Community of West Africa States.
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“Chinese and Africans will remain good friends, partners and brothers forever”, Xi said, stressing that China will continue to uphold the guidelines of its Africa policy with a balanced approach to principles and interests.
So how much do China and Africa need each other?
“We want to build it into a model for relationships between China and other emerging economies”, Xi said at a news conference following the talks.
But on Wednesday, Gigaba said the Ebola virus in Africa was partly to blame for the drop numbers of Chinese tourists visiting South Africa rather than visa requirements.
According to President Buhari, China and Africa must work together to confront the above threats, as well as the challenge of climate change “for which Africa remains badly affected with severe threats to food security and social stability”, in addition to “unacceptable levels of poverty, unemployment and youth restiveness”.
The Johannesburg meeting, which opened Friday, is the second summit of the 15-year-old FOCAC.
China says its trade with Africa last year was worth $220 billion last year with investments seen at $32.4 billion, but direct investment has fallen roughly 40 percent in the first half of 2015 to $1.19 billion.
China will strengthen its cooperation with Africa in the fight against violent extremism and would not interfere with the political choices of countries in the continent, Xi said.
China is willing to encourage more Chinese companies to actively participate in the process of industrialization and modernization of the remote continent, he added.
But it’s a partnership that hasn’t always been described as equal – with China accused of plundering Africa’s rich resources. Following the group meeting he held with 13 African leaders on Friday morning, the group meeting on Saturday morning was the second of its kind on the sidelines of the summit.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, joint host of the summit, welcomed the two countries’ deepening relations as he emphasized the importance of China’s generous involvement in supporting its fragile economy.
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Xi told hundreds of Chinese and African business dignitaries that China sincerely hopes to share its industrialization experiences with African countries and help the continent advance its own industrialization with financial, technological and talent support. The two countries also signed a deal to improve nuclear power cooperation. “Achievement of mutual benefits is the basis of Sino-Africa cooperation”, Kenyatta remarked.
