Johannesburg- While some observers have criticised China’s interest on the African continent, African leaders say their cooperation with the Asian power offers mutual benefits.
Both Africa and China says those who criticise their relationship often don’t come up with concrete solutions to address Africa’s problems.
At the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Johannesburg, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is also the African Union chairperson, described China as “God sent” saying its interest in the continent covers all its areas of need.
President Mugabe referred to China as a country that never colonised Africa but had interest to see it develop.
“China is doing to us what we expected those who colonised us yesterday to do,” he said at the opening of the two-day summit which ends on Saturday.
“We will say that God sent us this person. May God bless China and its people,” said President Mugabe.
China used the summit to announce ten cooperation plans that will strengthen cooperation with Africa in the coming three years.
The programs cover the areas of industrialisation, agricultural modernisation, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.
These cooperation’s will be guided by the governance with business being the major role player. China has also offered 60 billion US dollars to ensure smooth implementation of the initiatives.
Mugabe said the announcement by China will inject a new vibrancy to the relations.
The opening ceremony according to Beijing was highly a success.
“This meeting as an important timing. The summit is important because after over 30 years of rapid development China is reformed and opening up to has entered a new stage which is what we call the new normal. Especially when you take our current economic developments in China,” China’s ambassador for African Affairs Zhong Jianhua.
China recorded a 6.9 % economic growth in the first three months of the year- which economist warned will mean bad news for Africa’s economies which highly depend on China.
Zhong said African countries have been making enormous efforts in in security their independence and political stature.
“But after years, Africa’s development status is lagging behind for most countries. The reason for this is because of the centuries of colonialism rule has nearly damaged the development potential of this continent. But having said that we have seen that rapid development of African countries is possible as example is that most of the world’s most rapid developing countries in the world are from Africa which is more distinctive,” said Zhong. –SAnews.gov.za
