China announces measures to improve ties with Africa

Page 17, Nov 9, 2009

From Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
THE Chinese Prime Minister, Mr Wen Jiabao has announced eight new measures to improve on the country’s relation with Africa.
Addressing the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC), which opened in the Egyptian tourism city, Sham El-Sheikh , he announced that China would build up the financing capacity of African countries with the provision of $10 billion in concessional loans and support Chinese financial institutions in setting up a $1 billion special loan for small and medium-sized African businesses.
The meeting, which is being co-chaired by the Egyptian President, Mr Hosni Mubarak and the Chinese Prime Minister, is expected to give an overall review of the implementation of the various co-operative agreements between China and Africa and chart a new course for the development China-African relations.
A number of bilateral agreements are expected to be signed to boost economic and trade co-operation and help Africa develop as well as deal with the global economic crisis.
Ghana's delegation to the meeting is led by the Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, who is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni.
The meeting is expected to issue the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration and also an action plan for 2010-2012 as a blueprint for bilateral co-operation in various areas within the next three years.
Mr Wen said "We will further open up China's market to African products. We will phase out in zero-tarrif treatment to 95 per cent of the products from least developed African countries having diplomatic relations with China starting with 60 per cent of products within 2010".
He added that China would also assist Africa in the agricultural sector by increasing the number of agricultural technology demonstration centres built by China in Africa to 20 and send 50 agricultural technology teams to Africa, train 2,000 agricultural technology personnel in order to strengthen Africa's ability to ensure food security.
On human resource and education, Prime Minister Wen announced that China would build 50 China-Africa friendship schools and train 1,500 school principals and teachers on the continent adding that by 2012, China would increase the number of Chinese scholarships in Africa to 5,500 and train a total of 20,000 professionals of various fields over the next three years.
He said the Chinese people cherished sincere friendship towards African people and China's support to Africa's development "is concrete and real".
“Whatever change may take place in the world, our friendship with Africa will not change, our commitment to deepening mutual beneficial co-operation and achieving common development with Africa will not change and our policy of supporting Africa's economic and social development will not change, he declared.
Giving accounts of the benefits of the FOCAC so far, Mr Wen said the two sides had strengthened economic co-operation explaining that China-Africa trade exceeded $100 billion and the number of African countries trading with China grew to 53.
He stated that China had begun the construction of six economic and trade co-operation zones in Africa adding that nearly 1,600 Chinese enterprises had started businesses with a direct investment stock of $7.8 billion.
Mr Wen said the plan to cancel 168 debts owed by 33 African countries was about to be completed while $5 billion of concessional loans would be fully in place soon. The China-Africa Development Fund, whose first tranche reached $1 billion, had also become operational as scheduled.
In addition, he said exchanges and co-operation in culture, education, health and human resources had grown rapidly, explaining that China would by the end of the year complete the training of 15,000 people of different professions for African countries.
Mr Wen called on the international community not to waiver in its resolve to help Africa achieve the Millennium Development Goals (Mugs) saying that "It should take credible steps to honour the commitment of assistance to enable Africa to actively foster an enabling external environment of international economy, trade and finance.
"The co-operation between China and Africa is indispensable to the growth of the world" he declared and urged the international community to recognise the peculiar problem of the Africa and assist the continent to achieve its Millennium Development Goals (Mugs).
For his part, the Egyptian President, Mr Hosni Mubarak expressed optimism that the Sham El-Sheikh Forum would lift the relations between China and Africa to a higher level.
Eight heads of state, five Prime Ministers and Vice Presidents, among others addressed the opening session of the forum which was held at the plush Maritime Congress Centre in the heart of Sham El Sheikh.