Editor,

RE: "Beware the Big Bad Wolf: European misconceptions about China and Africa” (The New Times, February 10).

Some quarters on the Old Continent (Europe) want us in Africa to continue snoozing yet Chinese are also investing big time in Europe. Interestingly, Europeans welcome the investments made by Chinese in nuclear energy, banking, infrastructure and hospitality sectors with open arms.

So let us also work with Chinese and I would urge young Africans to also learn mandarin. In the next 10 or 15 years max, China will become the number 1 economy in the world and Africans should position ourselves to increase trade both ways with them. The problem in Africa still remains the fact that we get easily distracted.

Al