By He Wenping
The Chinese government will make eight major moves in the coming
three years in a bid to promote the new China-Africa strategic
partnership and facilitate the bilateral cooperation in a wider
scope and on a higher level.
President Hu Jintao unveiled the initiatives at the Beijing
Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation on Saturday. These
eight measures involve:
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Expanding aid to Africa
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Offering preferential loans
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Encouraging Chinese firms to make investments in Africa
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Constructing the conference center of the African Union
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Eliminating debts of some least developed African nations
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Extending the zero-tariff treatment on 190 products from some
poorest African countries to cover 440 products
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Setting up three to five off-shore economic and trade co-operative
zones in Africa
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Training professionals for African countries, and constructing 30
local hospitals
These moves, covering an unprecedented wide scope, show that
China cares very much about Africa's development. All these
measures, quantified and having very particular content, are easier
to implement and fulfill than generally stated goals.
The experience and practice of the China-Africa Forum over the
past six years since its founding indicate that it is not an
empty-talk club. It is an important platform and effective
mechanism conducting collective dialogue between China and African
nations and exchanges in governance, promoting mutual trust and
carrying out pragmatic cooperation.
President Hu Jintao's announcement indicates the Chinese
government gives top priority to the promotion of China-Africa
mutual investment.
In contrast with the fast expanding Chinese-African trade in
recent years, the mutual investment rate between the two sides
still remains low. Mutual investment, however, is a vitally
important factor benefiting both and assuring their sustainable
development.
African countries prefer mechanisms that help tap their internal
potentials to one-way aid, which is like a blood transfusion. Only
after they acquire the capability of supplying their own blood can
they shake off poverty altogether.
Obtaining investment to start businesses and industries is
pivotal to Africa's industrialization and revival as well as
increases employment, quickens up technical know-how transfer to
the continent and facilitates the training of its own
professionals.
As a result, the Chinese Government intends to set up a US$5
billion China-Africa development foundation in the hope of helping
Chinese companies make investments in the African Continent.
At the same time, a number of economic and trade co-operative
zones in Africa and a China-Africa commerce chamber are expected to
be set up. All this is bound to bring Chinese investment in the
African Continent to a new height.
Also, the Chinese and African leaders have reached consensus on
bringing about a new type of China-Africa strategic
partnership.
This is evidenced in Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's
remarks that the convening of the Beijing Summit shows to the world
the staunchest determination of China and Africa to build up a new
strategic partnership and that Africa is fully prepared for this
relationship.
As a matter of fact, the strategic partnership between China and
Africa, home to the largest concentration of developing countries,
takes on global significance, not just meaningful to their
bilateral relations.
From the perspective of South-South co-operation, this kind of
strategic partnership facilitates bringing about the widely shared
prosperity among the developing countries, while taking care of the
interests of China and Africa.
From the geopolitical point of view, unity between China and
Africa and their better orchestrated actions on the world stage
help boost the influence of the developing world as a whole and is,
in turn, conducive to bringing about a more just political and
economic order of the world.
After the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the developing
countries found themselves more estranged and distanced from one
another, which weakened their global influence as a whole.
In recent years, however, their shared interests in seeking a
fairer and more just economic order have brought them closer to
each other, in the context that protectionism is raising its head
in developed countries and that hegemonic mentality goes unchecked
in the world's political arena.
With their ties strengthened, the developing countries have more
say in world affairs. In World Trade Organization negotiations on
agriculture, for example, the developed countries had to make
concessions on the issue of farm produce subsidies, thanks to the
orchestrated actions on the part of the developing world, including
China and African countries.
In addition, China and African nations adopt the same or similar
stances on important international issues such as opposing
unilateralism, upholding the authority of the United Nations and
increasing the representation of the developing world in the UN
Security Council.
Working together in international affairs is of great
significance to boosting the developing countries' influence on
world affairs.
From the angle of economics, China-Africa co-operation will
bring each other's advantages into full play.
There are 53 countries on the African Continent, which has a
total population of 850 million, abounds in natural and human
resources, has great market potential and boasts huge potential for
development. However, owing to long-time colonialist plundering and
local tumults, the continent remains backward economically, lacking
capital, technology and expertise.
On the other hand, China has acquired much economic strength and
expertise over the past three decades since the country embarked on
the road of reform and opening up in the late 1970s.
At the same time, however, it is confronted with the problems of
short resources supplies and ever-fiercer competition in the
domestic economic arena.
Taking all this into account, China and Africa complement one
another in resources, market, capital, technology and expertise.
And much can be done in this regard.
From the perspective of mankind's progress and against the
background of the widening gap between North and South and the
unabated rise of global terrorism, helping African countries help
themselves is vital.
The common prosperity of these developing countries and their
deep involvement in economic globalization are of far-reaching
significance to the world's lasting peace and harmonious
development.
(The author is a researcher from the Institute for Western
Asian and African Studies Under the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences)
(China Daily November 6, 2006)