It accounted for 20.5% of Africa’s total foreign trade, up from 3.82% in 2000.
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“I think that we’re all in the same boat if you’re a producer in the global economy”, said South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies.
There are about a million Chinese living in Africa, mostly engaged in commercial work, according to the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Africa.
Of course much of that trade and investment would have happened without Focac.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of FOCAC. That helped boost African economic growth to an average of about five percent a year in the 21st century. President Mugabe chronicled the important role that China played during the Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle by providing military and technical support. The Mali attack showed that “China’s vast business interests in Africa face an uncertain future if security issues are not tackled”, said Mr Shu Yunguo, director of the Center for African Studies at Shanghai Normal University.
China and Zimbabwe are major trading partners, with Zimbabwe exporting most of its minerals to Asian nation, which also is the major market for the country’s tobacco.
As Zuma chairs the African Union, this added weight to the country’s status as a gateway to Africa for the Chinese, he said.
Asmal acknowledged that the relationship had already been beneficial to African economies.
Chinese-built roads, bridges and power installations are found across Africa, often paid for in resources or through loans from China that must eventually be repaid.
“This visit gives a guide to Chinese investors that Zimbabwe is a safe destination for their investments”, he told reporters. But more needed to be done.
Bimha said the value of the agreements would only be disclosed later on Tuesday.
It is the first time South Africa plays host to the summit to take place on Friday and Saturday, this week.
Among the agreements, several of those signed were in the fields of health and medical sciences, human resource cooperation and industrial development.
“The Chinese always emphasise that its economic engagement in Africa is not altruistic”.
Patrick Chinamasa, Zimbabwe’s minister of finance and economic development, said infrastructure remains the fundamental challenge to unleashing the country’s potential.
Xi will start his trip in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, where Chinese projects have been one of the few pillars holding up an economy in dire straits under Mugabe’s rule. The Chinese government is unrivalled in its willingness to fund big infrastructure projects in Africa, although American companies still provide the highest foreign direct investment to African countries, she said.
“The idea of development-oriented peace is manifested in China’s increased involvement in peacekeeping, conflict resolution and humanitarian intervention in Africa”, notes Kagwanja.
Xi held talks with Mugabe to discuss the traditional friendship between the nations, seeking pragmatic cooperation in various fields, and deepening the bilateral partnership of mutual benefits and common development.
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The Chinese navy has been providing escorts for merchant shipping since 2009 to guard against pirates in the Gulf of Aden and off the waters of Somalia.
