SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao pledged to give African countries $10 billion in concessional loans as a two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation opened in Egypt on Sunday. “We will help Africa build up its financing capabilities … we will provide $10 billion for Africa in concessional loans,” Wen told the forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
His pledge was included among measures he said would be taken over the next three years, including cancelling debts of African countries to increase his country’s role in the continent.
The Asian giant pledged $5 billion in assistance over three years at the last Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit, held in Beijing in 2006, and has also signed agreements to relieve or cancel the debt of 31 African nations.
It will also provide a $1 billion loan for “for small- and medium-sized businesses,” said the prime minister.
“China is ready to deepen practical cooperation in Africa,” he said, adding that Beijing was prepared to take on a role in “the settlement of issues of peace and security.”
China will also remove tariffs on 95 percent of products “from the least-developed African states that have diplomatic relations with China,” Wen said.
The Chinese prime minister added that his country would set up environmental programs in the continent, including 100 clean-energy projects, and increase cultural exchanges and medical assistance.
Chinese firms have been pouring investments into oil and other raw materials in Africa to fuel the Asian country’s booming economy.
Over the past five years, Chinese direct investment in Africa has increased dramatically, from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008, according to official Chinese figures.
Total trade between China and Africa surpassed $100 billion in 2008 – a tenfold increase in eight years.
Booming trade ties have been accompanied by China also building schools, hospitals and clinics to fight malaria and offering scholarships for Africans to study in China.
But Beijing’s growing economic role in the poverty-ridden continent has also been met with some skepticism and criticism.
China has been accused of throwing a lifeline to pariah regimes accused of human rights violations, such as the government of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Bashir, who is at the summit, thanked China in a speech for its diplomatic role in Sudan, where a six-year conflict in the country’s Western Darfur region has killed 300,000 people, according to the United Nations. Khartoum places the death toll at 10,000.
“We express our deep appreciation for China’s efforts in backing the comprehensive peace agreement [between south and north] in Sudan and its peace efforts in Darfur,” Bashir said.
“We thank China particularly for backing efforts by our countries to achieve peace and stability in Africa’s zones of conflict,” he added.
On March 4 the ICC issued a warrant for Bashir, accusing him of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Chinese officials say they follow a policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of African countries, and deny that Chinese investments and loans come with strings attached.
“Africa is fully capable of solving its own problems, in an African way,” Wen said.
“China has never attached any political strings … to assistance to Africa,” he said, adding that trade is based on “win-win programs … and transparency.”
Some observers have criticized China for relying on its own expertise and labor in Africa, rather than training Africans.
Wen said China intended to improve scientific and technological cooperation with African states and give technical training to African students. – AFP
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