President of China – Xi Jinping promised $50 billion to support development work in Africa for the next three years. He announced his decision at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, on Thursday, September 05, 2024.
He took the pledge in order to deepen the cooperation in infrastructure and trade with the continent as he addressed Beijing’s biggest summit since the pandemic. Over 50 African leaders and UN Secretary General – Antonio Guterres are attending the China-Africa Forum, this week.
Reportedly, the African leaders have already secured a plethora of deals this week for greater cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, mining, trade and energy. While addressing the leaders at the opening ceremony of forum in Beijing’s ornate Great Hall of the People, Xi hailed ties with the continent as their “best period in history.”
President Xi Jinping declared that China is ready to deepen the cooperation with African countries in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment. Over the next three years, the Chinese government is willing to provide financial support amounting to $50.7 billion to the continent.
He mentioned that more than half of that will be in credit, with $11 billion in various types of assistance as well as $10 billion through encouraging the Chinese firms to invest. He also promised to help and create at least one million jobs for Africa.
Addressing the meeting, UN chief Guterres told African leaders that growing ties between China and the continent could drive the renewable energy revolution. He added that China’s remarkable record of development includes on eradicating poverty that provides a wealth of experience and expertise.
China pledged some deals with Africa. It is the world’s number two economy, and it is Africa’s largest trading partner, that has sought to tap the continent’s vast troves of natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.
It has always furnished African countries with billions in loans that have helped in building much-needed infrastructure but sometimes stoked controversy by saddling governments with huge debts.
Following meetings on Wednesday, September 05, 2024 Zambian President – Hakainde Hichilema said that he had overseen a deal between the country’s state-owned power company ZESCO and Beijing’s PowerChina to expand the use of rooftop solar panels in his country.
According to him, Nigeria is one of Beijing’s biggest debtors on the continent and China inked a joint statement agreeing to deepen the cooperation in infrastructure, including transportation, ports and free trade zones.
Furthermore, Tanzanian President – Samia Suluhu Hassan, obtained a commitment from Xi to push for new progress on a long-stalled railway connecting his country to neighbouring Zambia. It is a project, for which the Zambian media has said that Beijing has pledged $1 billion towards its aim at expanding transport links in the resource-rich eastern part of the continent.
According to a joint statement by the two countries, Zimbabwe has also won promises from Beijing for deeper cooperation in agriculture, mining, environmentally friendly traditional and new energy transportation infrastructure.
Notably, the Southern African nation and Beijing also agreed to sign a deal that would allow the export of fresh Zimbabwean Avocados to China. The Kenyan leader William Ruto stated that Xi had promised to open up China’s markets to agricultural products from his country.
The two sides agreed to work together on the expansion of the country’s Standard Gauge Railway which was built with finance from Exim Bank of China and connects the capital, Nairobi, with the port city of Mombasa.
President Ruto also secured a pledge for greater cooperation with China on the Rironi-Mau Summit-Malaba motorway, for which Kenyan media has said that it is expected to cost around $1.2 billion.
Last year too, Ruto asked China for a $1 billion loan and the restructuring of existing debt to complete other stalled construction projects. The country now owes China more than $8 billion.