China helps Africa accomplish much-needed development

China has engaged in a lot of projects to help Africa accomplish its much-needed development.

Zeng Aiping, a Chinese expert in Sino-African relations, said this to
Xinhuanet recently, ahead of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on
China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

China has a faithful desire to transfer its development experience to
the African partners to help them surmount their problems, he noted.

Zeng expected Africa to emerge as a competitive market in future
because a large number of African countries have made major strides in
many fields.

Africa, a wealthy continent of natural and human resources as well as
unique geographical location, is moving now on the right track, he
said.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Africa’s
gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow at an average rate of
5.0 percent per year from 2018 to 2040.

Putting development at the agenda top, some countries such as Rwanda,
Senegal, and Kenya have achieved a high rate of growth, according to
Zeng.

In years, China gave a fillip to the southern and eastern parts of
the continent and it is now paying more attention to the other parts, he
said.

China has done a great deal in promoting cooperation with Africa by launching infrastructure and development projects.

Under the flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China helped
accomplished last year Kenya’s first high-speed railway from the capital
Nairobi to port city of Mombasa.

There are plans to extend this network into South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi to spread its benefit, he added.

China is also helping with the 10-billion-dollar projects: a mega port and an economic zone in Bagamoyo in Tanzania.

In north, he went on, “The Suez Canal project, which will include a
mega industrial zone, logistic services, and road networks linking Suez
Canal area to the other parts of Egypt’s governorates, will play an
important role in BRI and also will enhance the ties between Egypt and
China.” Zeng said BRI would continue to boost the trade volume between
Africa and China and increase in many aspects of cooperation between
them.

On the coming FOCAC, he said,“I think the FOCAC next month will focus on Johannesburg’s agenda of FOCAC in 2015 and BRI.”

He added BRI will lead to the increase of trade ties between the two sides by sharing investment, finance and development.

The China-Africa production capacity fund with an initial capital of
10 billion dollars established In the 2015 FOCAC summit has played a
major role, he said.

Zeng stressed the importance for Africa to attract foreign
investments, saying China will not give up its conviction on helping the
African partners.

On the western economic policy in Africa, the Chinese specialist
said:“Some Western countries impose certain conditions to support the
Africans.”

“But China only pays attention to economic development, to invest in
the continent and that, in turn, will serve the public interest and
humanity as whole,” he said.

He added the world’s largest exporter opens its market to Africa,
adding the Shanghai Import and Export Exhibition in November will be a
great opportunity to display African products.

Zeng revealed that almost 90 percent of African products enter the
Chinese market without custom duties to reduce trade imbalance.

He also affirmed that China opens its market not only for Africa but also for all parts of the world.

China underlines a policy of win-win cooperation with Africa in many
fora, and pushes Africa, which depends heavily on exporting raw material
and oil, to diversify its economy and improve investment environment.

Zeng highlighted the necessity of accelerating the integration of
Africa’s market by removing restrictions on trade to facilitate the flow
of business among the countries.