China-Africa economic cooperation has improved infrastructure, created jobs – Official

The economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa has improved infrastructure, created jobs, and enhanced people’s livelihood in Africa, while having helped Chinese enterprises, products, and standards go abroad, a senior commerce official said Tuesday.

“The cooperation has no political strings attached and is of win-win and equal nature,” Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming told a news conference.

Qian also said that Chinese investments in Africa are largely in the form of infrastructure projects and are valuable assets that will bring benefits to Africa’s future economic growth.

While making investments, he said, China will select more projects that generate economic benefits, create jobs, and increase taxes and exports.

Qian said looking forward, China will focus on helping strengthen Africa’s internal drive for economic development, and share its experience in infrastructure construction with African countries.

NAN reports that Bejing will host some 30 African leaders at the Sept 3 to Sept. 4 China-African Forum on Cooperation summit, a once-every-three-years event that typically sees China dole out large loan packages for the continent.

China in the past three years has invested about three billion dollars annually in Africa, according to the Commerce Ministry.

“China will be unwavering in supporting Africa’s development, including by providing funds, and at the same time we must focus funds on projects that are more sustainable, can advance economic growth, create employment and are economically effective,” Qian said.

Africa is an important part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road” initiative, a plan to bolster a network of infrastructure connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

China has pledged 126 billion dollars for the plan. Xinhua/NAN