China to double African aid
2006-11-04 11:06
Beijing - China would offer $5bn in loans and credits and double aid to Africa by 2009, said President Hu Jintao on Saturday, seeking to bolster his country's influence on the resource-rich continent.
Hu greeted visiting delegates from nearly 50 African nations one-by-one at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
"Our meeting today will go down in history," Hu told the leaders. "China is the largest developing country, and Africa is home to the largest number of developing countries."
The weekend summit, which follows a dialogue and trade forum, underscores China's deepening ties with African countries.
But rights groups have expressed concerns about Chinese links to countries like Zimbabwe and Sudan.
But Hu said: "The combined population of China and Africa accounts for over a third of the world total. Without peace and development in China and Africa, there will be no global peace and development."
China to help fight malaria
Outlining aid plans, Hu said China would provide $3bn in preferential loans and $2bn in preferential buyer's credits to African countries.
China would also double its 2006 assistance to Africa by 2009 in an effort to forge a new strategic partnership and strengthen co-operation.
Hu also pledged China would train 15 000 African professionals, send 100 agricultural experts to Africa, set up 10 agricultural technology centres over the next three years, build 30 hospitals, provide 300 million yuan (about R250m) in grants to help fight malaria, and build 100 rural schools.
He also increased the number of Chinese government scholarships to African students from 2 000 a year to 4 000 a year by 2009.
Rights groups say China's policy of non-interference in domestic affairs means its engagement with Africa is bolstering governments in places like Sudan and Zimbabwe, with whom Western countries have curbed trade ties.
China, Liberia sigh oil deal
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao dismissed accusations of a new form of colonialism in Africa.
"No African governments or people accuse China of practising neo-colonialism on the continent," he told a news conference. "The people who once suffered under colonialism in China and Africa know best what is colonialism."
China's trade with Africa is expected to top $50bn this year. While the summit is largely about handshakes and banquets, analysts also expect it to be an opportunity to cement trade and investment deals in the pipeline.
China and Liberia have signed a preliminary deal to allow China's second-largest state oil and gas firm, Sinopec Group, to explore for oil and gas.
Ghana is close to clinching a $600m deal with China's Sino Hydro Corporation to build a 400 megawatt hydroelectric dam in the north.
A Chinese consortium recently signed a $3bn iron ore deal in Gabon, which includes extending a railway and building a bulk commodities and container port.