The Connections between China and the African continent

By Isaac Twumasi Quantus in Accra.

China, as the largest developing country in the world, follows the path of peaceful development and pursues an independent foreign policy of peace. China stands ready to develop friendly relations and cooperation with all countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence so as to contribute to peace, stability and common prosperity in the world.

China and Africa's economies are highly complementary with great potential for cooperation. The Chinese Government has always advocated the development of economic and trade relations with African countries on the basis of "equality and mutual benefit, emphasizing on practical results in diversified forms for common development".

China has three focal points in developing economic and trade relations with Africa: firstly, to adopt measures to facilitate African commodities' access to Chinese market, with a view to actively expand the export of African commodities to China; secondly, to combine aid with technical cooperation, focusing on building development capacity; thirdly, to help train technicians and management professionals.

Sino-African trade has experienced a rapid growth in recent years at an average annual rate of 32% since topping the 10-billion-U.S.-dollars-mark in 2000, reaching 106.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2008. Meanwhile, exports from African countries, such as energy, raw materials and manufactured products, have also started entering the Chinese market in large quantities.

Fifty or more years of the Sino-African trade development has made significant and brilliant achievements and China is about to introduce a set of new measures for Sino-African economic and trade cooperation. Representative of the Chinese government believe that China-Africa economic cooperation is transparent, open and mutually beneficial. The two sides are pushing forward bilateral economic and trade cooperation to strengthen the economic and trade ties.

As always, the Chinese government provides the beneficiary countries with sincere assistance for their economic development, never attaches any political strings, or interferes in internal affairs, or harms any third country's interests. Figures from the Ministry of Commerce show that China has provided about 900 aid projects so far to over 50 countries in Africa, involving such sectors as agriculture, livestock farming, fishery, textile industry, water conservancy, power, communications, transportation, and food processing. The scale of China's assistance to Africa doubled from year 2006 to the end of 2009.

China has also helped Africa train a large number of professionals in various sectors and reduced or relieved the debts of 33 heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC). China has sent more than 17,000 medical professionals successively since sending the first medical team to Africa in 1963.

China has also granted duty-free treatment to goods from the least developed African countries to give African commodities access to the Chinese market.

In assistance to Africa's science and technology capacity building, the "China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership" was launched in November 2009, aiming at enhancing the China-Africa cooperation in science and technology.

By the end of 2005, China and African countries had signed a total of 65 cultural agreements and implemented 151 cultural exchange programs. In the past 5 years, more than 20 government cultural delegations from over 10 African countries have visited China, and China has signed 22 project implementation programs under the cultural agreements with 17 African countries, representing one-fifth of the total contracts signed in the past five decades.

In addition, China and Africa are having extensive exchanges and cooperation in areas such as cultural worker and professional training and exchanges, sports, film and television industry, press and book publishing.

 

This article was originally posted on Africa China Business Network

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