Diplomat: Trade between China and Africa reaches record high

With the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation set to take place in Beijing next month, Chinese ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng lauded the forum as the most important symbol of China-Africa cooperation – an example of a sustainable model of international solidarity.

As President Cyril Ramaphosa will be hosted by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during his state visit, several African leaders will come to China for the ninth summit of the forum established 24 years ago.

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Partnership worth R5 trillion

Addressing the launch on Friday of the book, Xi Jinping and the Flourishing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in the New Era, by University of SA’s scholar on China-Africa affairs Prof Paul Tembe, Wu said trade between China and the continent reached a record high of $282.1 billion (about R5 trillion) in the past year – a 26- fold increase from the founding year of the forum.

“China’s foreign direct investment in Africa exceeded $40 billion, growing by over 100-fold compared with the year 2000. Fifty-two African countries and the African Union (AU) Commission have signed the Belt and Road cooperation documents with China,” said Wu.

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Completed projects included the AU conference centre, Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway and the Maputo-Katembe Bridge. Wu said: “In Africa, China has built and upgraded more than 10 000km of railways, constructed nearly 100 000km of highways and over 60 000km of submarine cables, nearly 1 000 bridges, 100 ports and over 100 health facilities and schools.

“Chinese enterprises help build networks in Africa. They have served more than 900 million African people, improving Africa’s capacity for self-driven, sustainable development.

“This forum stands out from many global and trans-regional cooperation frameworks with Africa largely because it advocates mutual respect and joint consultation. In planning forum initiatives, China is committed to dovetailing our second centenary goal with the core strategies of the AU and African countries.

“For example, to support Africa’s green development, China uses environmental technologies to help grow Africa’s Great Green Wall. We build water-saving irrigation pilots in Mauritania, Nigeria and Ethiopia and use Juncao grass technology to create green jobs in SA, Kenya and Rwanda.”