China-Africa summit ends with call to strengthen partnership

Participants attending the fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) have emphasised the need to strengthen their partnership in order to realise their goals.The two-day meeting that ended yesterday in Beijing, China brought together six African heads of state from South Africa, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Djibouti, Niger as well as United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.Ministers from 50 African countries also attended, including Prime Ministers of Kenya and Cape Verde.Addressing a news conference at the end of the summit, Yang Jiechi, Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister, said that strong partnership and co-ordination will take China-Africa cooperation to greater heights.“We are pleased with the results of our cooperation since we launched this forum. African countries have registered tremendous growth in infrastructural development,” he said.The FOCAC is a collective consultation and dialogue mechanism between China and African countries launched in 2000. The platform, since its launch, has seen billions of dollars from the Chinese government channeled to African countries for economic development.China and Africa continue to enjoy a warm relationship through soft loans African nations get from the Asian giant.In 2011, trade between Africa and China increased to $166.3 billion with African exports to China shooting to more than $93 billion.Africa’s exports that include crude oil, minerals, and agricultural products among others, have played a significant role in the economic development of China. Africa also provides a vast market for Chinese products. “We are committed to open more and more prospective ways of strengthening our mutual cooperation with Africa,” Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister emphasised.The high level forum examined and adopted the “Beijing Declaration” and “Beijing Action Plan (2013-2015).According to Maite Nkoana Mashabane, South African Foreign Affairs Minister, the Sino-Africa cooperation is a strong foundation that will boost sustainable development in Africa.“Let us continue to act in the spirit of mutual trust and sincerity to make our partnership stronger,” she said.South Africa is the Co-Chair of FACOC and is set to host the next summit in 2015 in Johannesburg. Egypt is the former Co-Chair.Mashabane pointed out that her country will not have a separate agenda regarding the utilisation of the concessional loan from China. “It will be based on the aspirations of the African agenda and leadership,” she noted.John Rwangombwa, Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said the Chinese loan to Africa is a foundation to achieve sustainable development in Africa.“The loan’s agenda is in line with Rwanda’s goals to promote economic development. We have benefitted a lot from China-Africa cooperation,” he noted.On Thursday, the Chinese government pledged US$20 billion in concessional loans to African countries within the next three years to assist in developing infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, and small and medium-sized enterprises.On the sidelines of the summit, Rwangombwa signed a financing agreement worth US$116 million loan deal, together with Sun Ping, the Vice President of Export Import Bank of China (Exim Bank)The agreement will pave way for the disbursement of funds to start the construction of Rusizi-Rubavu highway via Karongi District.