China, Africa both win: a new reality ...

[General Duke]

China, Africa both win

(China Daily)

Updated: 2006-04-28 06:41

 

 

To find friendships, one has to offer friendship. This has been the foundation of Sino-African relations for the past half century.

 

China has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect and equal treatment in developing its friendship with Africa, where 47 of the total 53 countries have forged diplomatic ties with China.

 

It is no surprise that African nations see China as a sincere and reliable friend, and are willing to lend their support on some crucial issues.

 

President Hu Jintao's ongoing visit to three African countries Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya comes as Beijing moves to push forward the Sino-African partnership.

 

During his speech to Nigeria's parliament yesterday, Hu elaborated on Sino-African relations and China's policy on Africa. He put forward a five-point proposal for developing China-Africa ties in the fields of politics, economy, culture, security and international affairs.

 

The speech sent a clear message that China stands ready to share its experiences in economic and social development with Africa.

 

In fact, China has stepped up its efforts to expand economic work with Africa since 2000, when the Sino-African Co-operation Forum was established as a platform to facilitate bilateral co-operation.

 

On January 12 this year, China issued its first "African Policy Paper," pledging to develop a new type of Sino-African strategic partnership that will lead to mutually beneficial economic co-operation.

 

Both China and Africa face the pressing need to pursue development. Therefore there is every reason for both sides to work together to achieve common development and prosperity, especially given the mutual political trust and complimentary economies.

 

On the one hand, China's booming economy will mean development opportunities for Africa. For instance, the Sino-African trade volume reached a record US$39.74 billion last year, with African countries achieving a trade surplus of US$2.38 billion.

 

Meanwhile, China's advanced technology, investment and inexpensive products can benefit African industry and African people.

 

On the other hand, Africa can translate its advantages to competitive strength by providing China with energy supplies and a market for its goods.

[General Duke]

Moroccan trip highlights China's Africa ambitions

By Tom Pfeiffer

 

RABAT (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao, touring Africa to boost trade and political ties, met Moroccan officials on Tuesday on a visit widely seen as offering the continent a rival pole of influence to the West.

 

After talks in the capital Rabat, Hu left for the north African kingdom's economic centre Casablanca to visit Morocco's largest mosque and dine with Prime Minister Driss Jettou.

 

Analysts say China wants to make its economic weight count for more politically in Africa, where the influence of former European colonial powers is also being challenged by the United States, South Africa and a resurgent Russia.

 

Some Moroccan analysts also say China is coming to see more commercial opportunities in Africa than just raw materials, and that Moroccan business-friendly reforms have come at just the right time to attract Chinese trade and investment.

 

"China for Morocco must not be a threat but a model," said Milad Loukili, a Moroccan international relations professor.

 

Trade between China and Africa has surged in recent years, with China exporting billions of dollars of finished goods in exchange for the energy and minerals its economy craves.

 

For Morocco, which has no oil, the commercial relationship with China has been a largely one-sided affair.

 

The value of exchanges has tripled in four years to $1.5 billion but that is mostly due to a flood of Chinese imports.

 

In the centre of Casablanca, the bustling market of Derb Ghallef has mushroomed into a national hub for cheap Chinese appliances, gadgets and textiles.

 

"Morocco is without contest one of the principal victims of the spread of Chinese products, in particular in textiles and clothing," the official MAP news agency was quoted as saying by Moroccan Liberation newspaper.

 

But professor Loukili said Morocco had unexploited export opportunities that could help make the relationship less one-sided, pointing to Morocco's huge Atlantic fisheries.

 

"China needs fish and that is one area that can serve as a basis for redressing the commercial balance," he said.

 

INVESTMENT PLEDGE

 

Chinese officials have said they will work to boost investment in Morocco. Seven agreements were signed on Monday covering trade, tourism, culture and scientific research as well as the sale of fertilisers and construction materials.

 

The Chinese offered to train Moroccan textile workers to help support an industry that counts for more than a third of the country's exports and is still smarting from China's aggressive push into its vital European market.

 

They also offered assistance in agriculture and railways.

 

As some Moroccan commentators have played up the idea of a mutually beneficial relationship in which China shares expertise in exchange for access to markets and political support, Moroccan media have also reported a sudden surge in interest in learning Mandarin among Moroccan business people.

 

Chinese and Moroccan officials also discussed Taiwan and Western Sahara. China wants to head off Taiwanese diplomatic efforts in Africa, while Morocco hopes China -- a permanent U.N. Security Council member -- will back its plan to grant limited autonomy to the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

 

The Polisario Front, which waged a low-level guerrilla war with Morocco before a U.N. brokered cease-fire, wants complete independence for the territory.

 

After meeting the head of the council drawing up Morocco's proposal, President Hu said China supported a "solution to the Sahara problem that is consensual and achieved through peaceful means and dialogue", MAP reported.

 

"The Chinese gesture is an encouragement for Morocco and its efforts to rally support for its autonomy plan," a western diplomat told Reuters.

 

Officials with the Chinese delegation said Morocco had reaffirmed support for its "One China" policy.

[General Duke]

China, Africa seek win-win

 

www.chinaview.cn 2006-04-26 09:05:43

 

BEIJING, April 26 -- Chinese President Hu Jintao started his visit to Morocco on April 24, and after that will go to Nigeria and Kenya. This is another important visit to Africa by a top Chinese leader. On January 12 this year, the Chinese government released China's African Policy, marking an important event in the history of Sino-African relations. In the coming November, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as well as its 3rd Ministerial Conference will be held in Beijing, an event of unprecedented scale in history. Such a series of major diplomatic activities demonstrated the high attention China paid to Africa, and marked a new stage of China-Africa friendship and cooperation.

 

The New China established diplomatic relations with Egypt on May 30, 1956, opening a new chapter in the history of Sino-African friendship. In the half century that followed, the two sides have respected and supported each other in political affairs and become "all-weather friends"; rich economic achievements have also been scored based on equal treatment and common development. Among Africa's 53 countries, 47 keep diplomatic ties with China.

 

Bilateral trade has leapt from $12 million in the 1950s to nearly $40 billion today. The two sides have been keeping close cooperation in international affairs and together safeguarding legitimate rights of developing countries. China has been speaking out of a sense of justice at international institutions including the United Nations and striving for more international attention to the issue of Africa's development. African countries, on the other hand, have been giving their firm support to China on questions concerning China's national interests such as Taiwan, Tibet and human rights.

 

The new generation of China's central leadership attaches great importance to developing and strengthening friendly cooperative ties with Africa, with the focus laid on continuously expanding the scope and mode of cooperation. China's newly released Africa policy paper serves both a review of half-century friendly cooperation and a guiding document expounding on the government's diplomatic policy on peace, development and cooperation in Africa in a new era. It indicates that China and African countries will further enlarge consensus, deepen cooperation, join hands to sharpen their international competitive edge, face challenges together and achieve the goal of common development.

 

Along with the ever-enhancing Sino-Africa friendly relations in new situations and the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises on African markets, interests of some countries were inevitably affected and, consequently, irresponsible remarks arose, trying to drive a wedge between China and African countries. However, facts speak louder than words. Over the years, it is western powers, not China, who practiced cruel colonial rule in African countries and looted their resources like mad. Until today, backbone sectors of African countries such as heavy industry and mining are still in the grasp of western transnational companies.

 

China and African countries share no historical feud, no conflict in fundamental interests but have cherished long-term friendship and solid, wide foundation for cooperation. Over half a century, China has launched more than 800 construction aid and cooperation programs and sent tens of thousands professionals including 15,000 medical workers across the continent.

 

Today, Chinese aids without any political conditions can be seen in Africa almost everywhere, which are highly praised by local governments and people. China supports a leading role by the African Union (AU) in African affairs as well as the implementation of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). It also backs Africa's legitimate requests at multilateral occasions such as the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Facts have shown and will continue to show that China follows the philosophy of peaceful development and cultivates relations with African courtiers based on respect for sovereignty, equality and mutual benefit, which is different in nature with colonialism.

 

For China and Africa, establishing and developing a new strategic partnership that features political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win and cultural exchanges would not only benefit both parties but help achieve common prosperity among developing countries so as to push forward sustained peace and harmonious progress of the world.

 

(Source: People's Daily Online)

[General Duke]

China’s Hu fortifies ties with Africa

Tom Pfeiffer

 

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Reuters

 

RABAT — Chinese President Hu Jintao kicked off a three-state tour of Africa in Morocco yesterday, boosting already booming ties with a continent rich in the energy and minerals his country needs to feed a fast-growing economy. Hu was greeted at Rabat airport by Prime Minister Driss Jettou and later met King Mohammed at his palace and will sign trade, cultural and medical accords.

 

China’s Africa drive first moved up a gear when Hu visited Gabon in 2004, lending impetus to business links in a campaign that raised both hopes and hackles far beyond African shores.

 

“Africa’s trade links are shifting from the global ‘north’ to the global ‘east’,†wrote British analyst Christopher Clapham, referring to China’s purchases of African commodities and its sales to the continent of manufactured goods.

 

Chinese need for raw materials to feed its new industries has transformed the fortunes of African primary producers.

 

“There is a downside to this development: Africa’s own industrialisation can scarcely be encouraged by the flood of cheap goods available from Asia,†Clapham wrote.

 

In 2004, China’s total exports to Africa hit $13,82bn, up 36% over the previous year, while imports surged 81% to $15,65bn, according to Chinese statistics.

 

Some analysts say China’s push has given Africa a bigger role in the world economy, displacing what many Africans call an unequal and debilitating relationship with Europe that has dominated the continent from the slave trade era to the present.

 

Critics say, however, that beneath the diplomatic veneer, access to raw materials is paramount for China and that concern for good governance or social welfare counts for nothing beyond the demands of a stable environment in which to extract natural resources.