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CHINA-AFRICA-SUMMIT-TRADE-UPDATE
China’s Xi says ‘no strings attached’ to Africa investments
BEIJING, Sept 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – President Xi Jinping told African
counterparts and business leaders Monday that China’s investments on the
continent have “no political strings attached”, even as Beijing is
increasingly criticised over its debt-heavy projects abroad.
Xi spoke before the start of a two-day China-Africa summit that is
expected to focus on his cherished Belt and Road initiative, a global trade
infrastructure programme.
The massive scheme is aimed at improving Chinese access to foreign markets
and resources, and boosting Beijing’s influence abroad.
It has already seen China loan billions of dollars to countries in Asia
and Africa for roads, railways, ports and other major infrastructure
projects.
But critics warn that the Chinese leader’s pet project is burying some
countries under massive debt.
“China’s investment in Africa comes with no political strings attached,”
Xi told a high-level dialogue with African leaders and business
representatives hours before the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
“China does not interfere in Africa’s internal affairs and does not impose
its own will on Africa,” he said.
“China’s cooperation with Africa is clearly targeted at the major
bottlenecks to development. Resources for our cooperation are not to be spent
on any vanity projects, but in places where they count the most.”
But Xi admitted there was a need to look at the commercial viability of
projects and make sure preparations are made to lower investment risks and
make cooperation “more sustainable”.
Belt and Road, Xi said, “is not a scheme to form an exclusive club or bloc
against others. Rather it is about greater openness, sharing and mutual
benefit.”
A study by the Center for Global Development, a US think-tank, found
“serious concerns” about the sustainability of sovereign debt in eight Asian,
European and African countries receiving Belt and Road funds.
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Rwandan President Paul Kagame, currently the chair of the African Union,
dismissed such concerns, saying talk of “debt traps” were attempts to
discourage African-Chinese interactions.
“Another perspective… is that those criticising China on debt give too
little,” said Kagame in an interview with the official Xinhua news agency.
– ‘Fractured world’ –
At the last three-yearly gathering in Johannesburg in 2015, Xi announced
$60 billion of assistance and loans for Africa.
Nations across Africa are hoping that China’s enthusiasm for
infrastructure investment will help promote industrialisation on the
continent.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will oversee the signing of a
telecommunication infrastructure deal backed by a $328-million loan facility
from China’s Exim bank during his visit, his office said.
Xi said Belt and Road complies with international norms, and China
“welcomes the participation of other capable and willing countries for
mutually beneficial third-party cooperation”.
China would be happy to help Africa upgrade its customs and commodities
inspection facilities and provide supplies and equipment to improve trade
connectivity with the continent, the Chinese leader added.
He also voiced hope that Chinese and African companies could find new ways
to cooperate in the field of technology.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who spoke after Xi, said FOCAC
should be strategic and “build links between dignity, work opportunity and
economic security for all our people”.
Ramaphosa warned that the benefits of globalisation have not been equally
distributed between countries, resulting in a “fractured world where some
powers are prone to unilateral and protectionist measures”.
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– Djibouti debt –
China has provided aid to Africa since the Cold War, but Beijing’s
presence in the region has grown exponentially with its emergence as a global
trading power.
Chinese state-owned companies have aggressively pursued large investments
in Africa, whose vast resources have helped fuel China’s transformation into
an economic powerhouse.
While relations between China and African nations are broadly positive,
concerns have intensified about the impact of some of China’s deals in the
region.
Djibouti has become heavily dependent on Chinese financing after China
opened its first overseas military base in the Horn of Africa country last
year, a powerful signal of the continent’s strategic importance to Beijing.
Locals in other countries have complained about the practice of using
Chinese labour for building projects and what are perceived as sweetheart
deals for Chinese companies.
The concerns are likely to grow as countries in other parts of the world –
– especially Southeast Asia — begin to question whether Chinese aid comes at
too high a price.
On a visit to Beijing in August, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed
announced he was shelving a series of Chinese-backed infrastructure projects
worth $22 billion in total.
BSS/AFP/HR/1340