African states mull adopting yuan as forex reserve – Chinese official

While at a China-Africa summit in Johannesburg, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the provision of $60 billion in aid money for Africa.

It has however paid off on the continent-the message, spread through cultural initiatives such as Confucius Institutes and funding the billion-dollar expansion of Chinese state media in Africa, has had fertile reception on the ground, research shows it is viewed favourably by most African countries.

Briefing the meeting on the outcome of the Beijing Summit, Mr. Wang said the Chinese government offered $31.52 billion of credit lines to African countries in the past three years, exceeding its $20 billion commitment made at the 2013 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation meeting in Beijing.

It was the second time since 2009, when China cancelled debts totalling 19 billion yuan (HK$23 billion) of 35 African nations.

China helped develop and launch the Nigerian communications satellite (NigComSat-1) by 2007 to expand cellular and internet networks in Central Africa.

The 10 areas include industrialization, infrastructure, financial services, poverty reduction, and peace and security.

Xi will “announce a series of new measures…to support Africa’s development”, said Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Xi said that after 30 years of reform and opening-up, China is now in the position to help Africa realize sustainable self-development with technology, equipment, skillful professionals and capital.

“China-Africa relations have today reached a stage of growth unmatched in history”, Xi said. China has also declared that it has established a logistics base in Djibouti – a move that critics say is a cover for a military base in Africa.

“There is a sense that African leaders seek economic empowerment, not simply reliance, from their relationship with China”, said Lyle Morris, China analyst at the RAND Corporation in California. The summit will be chaired by Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma.

South Africans nervous that China is “taking over” might be interested to learn that Chinese bankers and businesspeople are as eager as their counterparts in South Africa to see the relationship between the two countries evolve into a more equal partnership.

Among the presidents attending were Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest economy, Salva Kiir of South Sudan, Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe directly applauded his speech.

“Here is a man (Xi) representing a country once called poor”. “The frequent political exchanges and dialogue between the two sides have provided further guidance for China-Africa cooperation. So there is not an expectation that we in Africa are expecting handouts”, said Ghulam Hoosein Asmal, a senior official in South Africa’s foreign affairs ministry.