China pledges $60 billion to Africa

During the forum, President Jinping announced that his government plans to provide over $60 billion in loans and assistance to the African continent.

President Mugabe was speaking after Chinese President and FOCAC co-chairperson Xi Jinping, had said in address that his country was offering $60 billion in loans and grants to Africa over the next three years.

President Zuma said the African countries have been struggling with unemployment among the youth and that there is so much pressure for the African leaders to come up with economic and development plans and create jobs.

The summit comes on the 15th anniversary of the FOCAC, adhering to the theme “Africa-China Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development”.

China-Africa cooperation should also be open and inclusive, he said, adding that the two sides should welcome the involvement of enterprises from other countries that uphold the principle of mutual benefit.

The growing relationship between China and Africa would also transform global relations, Mugabe said, referring to the inequalities and lack of representivity of the UN Security Council and the Bretton Woods worldwide financial institutions.

“China has become Africa’s largest trade partner, and Africa is now one of China’s major import sources and fourth largest investment destination”.

Since then, China’s trade with Africa has overtaken that of the traditional partners, Europe and the United States.

Liu Hongwu, director of the School of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, said that the summit and Xi’s proposals are helping China-Africa cooperation “better link to Africa’s own pursuits for development, its own planning and mechanisms”.

Mr. Xi told dozens of African leaders gathered at a China-Africa summit in Johannesburg that the funds would be invested in 10 projects over three years. Matjila also welcomed the fact that China had dropped the interest rates on its soft loans to nearly the price Africans could get them at home.

The Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr. Wang Yi, who made the announcement on Thursday, said “China will put forward a comprehensive package of new measures to support African development”.

“Here is a man representing a country once called poor, a country which was never our colonizer”.

“Our detractors will continue to point at China’s new appetite for mineral resources but the reality on ground did not reflect this”.

China has reiterated time and time again that it is interested in developing Africa’s social infrastructure without being seen as, or becoming, a colonial power like previous investors in the continent.

Reuters reported that Western diplomat spoke of his skepticism regarding the deal; “it is hard to tell what the deals involve beyond the headlines”.

Xi stays in South Africa on December 2-5 for the Johannesburg summit of the FOCAC and for his second state visit to the country. “He is doing to us what we expected those who colonized us yesterday to do”, said Mugabe, who is also chairman of the African Union, to loud applause by the delegates.