Johannesburg summit expected to enhance China-Africa cooperation

2015. Jinping is in Zimbabwe for a two day State visit during…

Several investment deals are set to be signed between the two countries at Zimbabwe’s State House on Tuesday evening and the ceremony will be presided over by Mugabe and his Chinese counterpart.

To see China’s evolving foreign policy, look to Africa, where a desire to protect economic investment is leading to a revision of the country’s hands-off approach to the internal affairs of other nations. Africa has become China’s second-biggest overseas market for contracted engineering services, Qian said.

“China’s packages towards Africa are going to be more diversified”, said Yun Sun, China expert at the US-based Brookings research organisation.

China’s president Xi Jinping has touched down on South African soil to co-chair the 6th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit.

“We await the visit with very great interest and when he visits us we shall discuss some of the projects and programs we would want China to assist us in undertaking”, said Mugabe.

China and South Africa should strengthen partnership in various aspects, Xi noted, calling on the two countries to be forward-looking strategic partners with strong mutual trust, development partners pursuing equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, friendly partners who understand and learn from each other, and global partners who support and coordinate closely with each other.

Cao said China was working with a team in the financial services sector on the circulation of the Chinese currency, yuan in Zimbabwe and may consider developing models such as the Ethiopian one, where China gives credit and the country may pay back in tobacco for instance.

Calling China an “all-weather” friend of Zimbabwe, Mugabe said his country hopes to learn from China’s experience in socioeconomic development, receive more assistance from China and expand bilateral cooperation in such fields as agriculture, industry and infrastructure.

Jiang Jianguo, minister of the State Council Information Office, delivers the keynote speech at the China-Africa Media Summit in Cape Town, South Africa on Tuesday.

“The volume of agreements indicates the amount of work that has been done in the past few months.

However, it is also our duty to tell the good story that would help change the negative narrative to an Africa that is a land of opportunities and potential”, he said. Part of its response is to build new nuclear plants that experts say may cost as much as $100 billion. He will join African leaders for the summit due on Friday and Saturday.

“Such initiatives are a clear departure from Beijing’s aversion to military or security intervention in Africa”, said Mr Lyle Morris, a project associate at RAND Corp, citing in particular the military assistance Mr Xi pledged in September.