NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 7 – China has reiterated its commitment to deepen practical cooperation with Africa in line with new measures announced during the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in July.
In a statement, China insists that it will implement the measures in relation to economic cooperation and trade promotion in three priority areas, which include expanding cooperation in investment and financing, increasing development assistance and supporting the African integration process.
In light of the development pursuit of African countries and the need of practical China-Africa cooperation, the new measures focus on development as the theme and cooperation as the main way.
While extending existing measures, the new measures also highlight the features of “diversification, innovation and sustainability” and aim to boost economic growth in Africa through the collaboration between Chinese and African governments, non-governmental organisations, businesses, financial institutions, think tanks, and the press.
“These new measures indicate the great importance attached to the traditional China-Africa friendship and the goodwill to upgrade bilateral commercial cooperation for common development, “the statement reads.
The Chinese government says it will work closely with African countries to implement economic cooperation and trade promotion measures adopted at the Ministerial Conference in a bid to help African countries improve the livelihood of their people, enhance their capacity for independent development, push ahead with the African integration process, and inject new vitality in the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership.
“China will provide 20 billion dollars of credit line to African countries to assist them in developing infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and small and medium-sized enterprises,”said China’s President Hu Jintao during the forum.
China had also promised to send 1,500 medical personnel to Africa and continue with the Brightness Action to provide free medical treatment for cataract patients in Africa.
There are also plans to implement the African Talents program to train 30,000 Africans of various professions and offer 18,000 government-sponsored scholarships.
Since 2010 the Chinese government has provided to Africa USD 10 billion (Sh840 billion) worth of concessional loans.
