Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday announced a package of
major assistance, investment, trade and other key cooperation
projects with Africa in an effort to forge a new type of strategic
partnership and strengthen cooperation in more areas and at a
higher level.
While addressing the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of
the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), President Hu listed
eight steps China will take in years to come, which include:
---Double its 2006 assistance to Africa by 2009.
---Provide US$3 billion of preferential loans and US$2 billion
of preferential buyer's credits to Africa in the next three
years.
---Set up a China-Africa development fund which will reach US$5
billion to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Africa and
provide support to them.
---Build a conference center for the African Union to support
African countries in their efforts to strengthen themselves through
unity and support the process of African integration.
---Cancel debt in the form of all the interest-free government
loans that matured at the end of 2005 owed by the heavily indebted
poor countries and the least developed countries in Africa that
have diplomatic relations with China.
---Further open up China's market to Africa by increasing from
190 to over 440 the number of export items to China receiving
zero-tariff treatment from the least developed countries in Africa
having diplomatic ties with China.
---Establish three to five trade and economic cooperation zones
in Africa in the next three years.
---Over the next three years, train 15,000 African
professionals; send 100 senior agricultural experts to Africa;
setup 10 special agricultural technology demonstration centers in
Africa; build 30 hospitals in Africa and provide 300 million yuan
of grant for providing artemisinin and building 30 malaria
prevention and treatment centers to fight malaria in Africa;
dispatch 300 youth volunteers to Africa; build 100 rural schools in
Africa; and increase the number of Chinese government scholarships
to African students from the current 2000 per year to 4000 per year
by 2009.
Hu also offered five-point proposal to cement closer ties
between China and Africa.
First, China will deepen political relations of equality and mutual
trust with Africa, Hu said. "We will maintain high-level contacts
and mutual visits, establish a regular high-level political
dialogue mechanism and conduct strategic dialogue to enhance mutual
political trust and traditional friendship and achieve common
progress through unity," he said.
Secondly, China will broaden win-win economic cooperation with
Africa. "We will give full play to our respective strength, enhance
economic and trade ties, broaden areas of cooperation, support
cooperation between our business communities, upgrade cooperation
in human resources development and explore new ways of cooperation
so that both sides will share the benefits of development," Hu
said.
Thirdly, China will expand exchange for cultural enrichment with
Africa. "We will strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges
to increase mutual understanding and friendship between our two
peoples and particularly between the younger generation. We will
enhance exchanges and cooperation in education, science and
technology, culture, public health, sports and tourism to provide
intellectual motivation and cultural support for China- Africa
cooperation," he added.
Fourth, China will promote balanced and harmonious global
development together with Africa, he said, adding "We will enhance
South-South cooperation and promote North-South dialogue. We urge
developed countries to honor their promises on market access, aid
and debt relief. We should strive to meet the Millennium
Development Goals and steer economic globalization in the direction
of creating prosperity for all."
Fifth, China and Africa will strengthen cooperation and mutual
support in international affairs, he said. "We are committed to
upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respecting
diversity of the world and promoting democracy in international
relations. We call for enhancing international security cooperation
based on mutual trust and benefit and addressing each other's
concerns through consultation and coordination so that we can
jointly respond to threats and challenges to global security."
"Without peace and development in China and Africa, there will
be no global peace and development," Hu noted.
Hu said China and Africa enjoy trust and cooperate closely to
uphold the legitimate rights and interests of the developing world,
adding that China has firmly supported Africa in winning liberation
and pursuing development, and it has also received great support
from African countries.
"China has trained technical personnel and other professionals
in various fields for Africa. It has built the Tanzara Railway and
other infrastructure projects and sent medical teams and
peacekeepers to Africa. All this testifies to the friendship
cherished by the Chinese people towards the African people," said
Hu.
"We in China all not forget Africa's all support for restoring
the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United
Nations. Nor will we forget the sincere and ardent wish of African
countries and people for China to realize complete and peaceful
reunification and achieve the goal of building a modern nation,"
said Hu.
President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo,
while addressing the opening ceremony of the summit, expressed
Africa's appreciation to China for its announcement of eight new
actions.
"The Chinese government has, as always, fulfilled its commitment
and the African people have benefited a lot from China's
generosity," said Sassou, whose country chairs the AU for the 2006
session.
Sassou said the two documents -- the Beijing declaration and an
action plan for the year 2007 to 2009 -- cover various aspects of
China-Africa relations and will upgrade their cooperation to a new
level in the coming three years.
The documents had already been discussed and passed at Friday's
ministerial conference of the FOCAC and are expected to be signed
on Sunday.
"We are glad to learn from the documents that China will
continue to offer assistance to Africa, especially in the fields of
implementing the New Partnership for Africa's Development, meeting
the Millennium Development Goals and restarting the WTO Doha Round
of talks," Sassou said.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Ato Meles Zenawi told the opening
ceremony that the China-Africa partnership forged 50 years ago must
be renewed to address immediate challenges of fighting poverty and
backwardness and seeking economic independence.
Ethiopia is the co-chair country of the forum.
Meles said the economic complementarity between Africa and China
was huge. "Africa provides to the growing Chinese economy a
reliable field for investment, trade and the utilization of natural
resources for mutual benefit. China provides for Africa a source of
successful development experience, technology transfer, trade and
investment."
The prime minister said that African people had "very high
expectations" from the renewed Sino-African strategic partnership
and "welcomed" China's tremendous progress in the economic and
other fields.
The two-day Beijing Summit of FOCAC focuses on "friendship,
peace, cooperation and development", and the Chinese and African
leaders will review the development of China-Africa relationship
and blueprint future cooperation.
FOCAC, launched in 2000, is a mechanism for collective dialogue
and cooperation jointly established by China and Africa to cope
with new challenges and facilitate common development.
(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2006)