China Africa Trade Pledges Aid

China Prepared for Higher Level of Cooperation with Africa - To ensure smooth implementation of the initiatives, Xi announced, China will offer 60 billion USA dollars of funding support, including 5 billion dollars of free aid and interest-free loans, 35 billion dollars of preferential loans and export credit on more favorable terms, 5 billion dollars of additional capital for the China-Africa Development Fund and the Special Loan for the Development of African SMEs each, and a China-Africa production capacity cooperation fund with the initial capital of 10 billion dollars.

Sticking to the Chinese tradition of non-interference in local politics, Mr Xi said yesterday: "China strongly believes Africa belongs to the African people, and African problems should be handled by the African people".

Xi told the closing session of the talks that "China and Africa are important forces for maintaining world peace and tranquillity and promoting world development and the prosperity".

He said the momentum of rapid growth in Africa was "unstoppable".

"It is time African countries took advantage of the numerous opportunities that China has presented to the continent to develop itself", he said. There are more than 3 000 Chinese companies running their business in Africa.

Despite its economic woes back home, China is still expected to flex its financing and investment prowess.

The Johannesburg summit is the second of its kind under the 15-year-old framework of the FOCAC, which groups China, 50 African countries that have established diplomatic ties with China, and the Commission of the African Union. "During the upcoming summit, leaders of China and Africa will gather in South Africa to discuss the ways to further align China and Africa's development strategies and map out the new blueprint for China-Africa cooperation".

On Friday, Xi announced a package of programs to strengthen China-Africa cooperation and support Africa's development in the coming three years at the opening ceremony, winning waves of applause.

To realize the upgrade of relations, Xi said leaders at the meeting have been determined to push forward the all-round development of China-Africa relations by focusing on implementing 10 major cooperation plans covering the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.

Ambassador Tian said China is the largest contributor of peacekeepers in Africa among all the permanent members of the UN Security Council. But perhaps one of the biggest challenges African countries face is youth unemployment and leaders are under pressure to come up with development plans which create more jobs.Zuma added that, given that history, it was only natural that Africa has developed a win-win partnership for development and progress with China over the years.

"There is a lot we can learn from China as a country and as an African continent because it is an economic giant".