While at a China-Africa summit in Johannesburg, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the provision of $60 billion in aid money for Africa.
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Twenty-five agreements worth a combined value of $16.5 billion (more than R190 billion) have been signed during a business forum between China and African countries, says Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.
Jeremy Stevens, a Beijing-based economist at Standard Bank, which is 20 per cent owned by China’s ICBC bank, said the pledges were testament to Beijing’s long-term strategy in Africa.
He called on African leaders to be ready for an improved relation with China, adding that China was ready to take relation with Africa to the next level in a mutually beneficial cooperation.
He said his country will implement a ten-point cooperation plan with Africa in the next three years aimed at addressing some of the issues that have been holding back the continent’s development.
At the opening ceremony of the Johannesburg summit, the second of its kind under the 15-year-old framework of the FOCAC, Xi proposed that China and Africa lift their relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and join hands to open a new era of win-win cooperation and common development.
News24 reported that China had participated in around 16 United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa and now had 2,000 peacekeeping personnel on the ground.
He also announced drought aid for the continent.
China’s president, Xi Jinping arrived in South Africa for the China-Africa Cooperation Summit (FOCAC).
Some of the plans aim to accelerate Africa’s industrialisation and agricultural modernisation and achieve sustainable self-development.
“We are keen to explore co-operation with China to ensure the long term viability of African mining”, South Africa President Jacob Zuma told the summit.
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. “I don’t think we need to panic about fluctuations in trade volumes”, China’s special representative on African Affairs Zhong Jianhua said.
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While China has emerged during this period as many countries’ biggest trade partner, this year’s summit comes amid a slump in global commodity prices, raising questions in some quarters over whether Chinese motivation in Africa is overly concerned with resource extraction and associated infrastructure.
