‘Export more to China’
As Ramaphosa advises Africa to leverage relations, China pledges another $60bn funding
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday moved to pour cold water on assertions that China’s investment was driven by a desire to colonise Africa.
Yesterday Ramaphosa, who is in Beijing for the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) summit, warned that African countries had to increase export products to the Asian giant economy to leverage the relationship.
“The impact that Focac has had on African countries refutes the view that a new colonialism is taking hold in Africa,” Ramaphosa told the African fraternity to overwhelming applause.
At a time when US President Donald Trump is drastically cutting development finance to Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a further $60 billion (R890bn) in new development funding for Africa over the next three years.
He also announced that the previous pledge of $60bn at the 2015 Focac Summit had either been delivered or arranged.
Xi made a number of highly significant announcements for which Ramaphosa warmly thanked him as co-chair of the summit.
“Africa’s least developed countries, heavily-indebted countries, and landlocked and small island countries with diplomatic relations with China will be exempted from outstanding inter-governmental interest-free loan debts from the end of 2018,” Xi announced, to notable African appreciation.
Xi’s address to 48 African heads of state at the Focac was given a standing ovation from African leaders.
According to Xi, eight major initiatives by the government of China would be implemented over the coming three years.
The first being the launch of an industrial promotion initiative, which will build and upgrade trade and economic zones on the continent.
China will also implement a programme of action on agricultural modernisation intended to ensure food security in Africa by 2030.
Fifty agricultural assistance programmes will be rolled out, and 500 senior agricultural experts will be sent to Africa.
“We have also decided to give RMB 1 billion for emergency humanitarian food assistance caused by natural disasters on the continent,” Xi said.
Promises to see local currency settlement of loans and to facilitate bond issuance by African countries in China were tangible measures that would increase confidence in African economies.
Particularly beneficial is the announcement that China will offer 50 000 scholarships to African students, and train 1 000 high-calibre Africans in 10 social and development planning workshops.
By way of comparison, the 28 EU states have not even offered 1 000 bursaries for African students.
African ministers of international relations and trade as well as their Chinese hosts were unanimous in their assessment that the 10 co-operation plans the Focac Summit had announced in 2015, were being fully implemented.
“We applaud China for keeping to its promises,” Ramaphosa said.
“The industrial plan has resulted in industrial development, the agricultural modernisation plan in greater productivity, and the infrastructure plan has boosted connectivity and integration on the continent.”
“China has seen remarkable economic ascendancy, becoming the second largest economy in the world, and the third largest foreign investor. It has met almost all of the Millennium Development Goals.
There are valuable lessons from its impressive growth model that can be used by Africans as a catalyst for development,” Ramaphosa said.
He warned that Africa needed to send more value added products to China to improve the trade balance where Africa largely exported primary products to China, while China exported finished goods to Africa.
“This limits our ability to extract the full value out of our natural resources and create jobs for our people.”