China-Africa relations a pacesetter for S/South cooperation – Li Keqiang

enhance agricultural cooperation with Africa and help Africa train technical and managerial personnel on agriculture. We hope poverty reduction will help Africa achieve sustainable development and bring the African people a more dignified life. China and Africa will strengthen industrial and commercial cooperation and promote Africa’s industrialization and manufacturing sector. Africa has entered the fast track of growth and its modernization process is gaining momentum. China is ready to bring into full play its advantages and take an active part in Africa’s infrastructure development so as to promote connectivity on the African continent. Through infrastructure building, we will promote industrial cooperation and help Africa to focus on developing labour-intensive manufacturing, which will create jobs and boost consumption. China will also create new ways of investment and financing cooperation to help Africa address the funding shortfalls. During the visit, the two sides will sign cooperation agreements in such areas as road, railway, aviation and electric power.

China and Africa will enhance cooperation in human resources and eco-environment so as to sustain the momentum of Africa’s long-term development. Africa has the biggest potential in human resources. China is ready to train more professionals of multiple types for African countries, and provide more vocational education tailored for African young people, so as to help Africa fully and durably unleash the population dividends. As one saying goes, the key to people-topeople exchanges lies in heart-to-heart communication. China will roll out a series of projects on people-to-people exchanges and cooperation to enrich exchanges between the two peoples and promote mutual understanding and friendship. Green has always been the true colour of Africa. China will have closer cooperation with Africa in this field and provide funding to promote Africa’s efforts to protect its wild animal resources and address the challenges of climate change, so that a beautiful China and a beautiful Africa will go hand in hand as we assist each other in development.

In recent years, there have been some media reports about imbalance in China-Africa trade, substandard Chinese exports to Africa, and violation of local labour regulations by Chinese companies. How do you view such problems in China-Africa cooperation?

As China-Africa relations grow rapidly in all areas, companies of the two sides have encountered “growing pains” and some new problems in their cooperation that call for proper settlement. The Chinese government takes these issues very seriously. Instead of dodging or covering them up, China is willing to sit down with African countries and resolve these issues through earnest consultation in the spirit of mutual respect, pragmatism and efficiency. Here, let me reiterate that China will continue to carry out cooperation with Africa under the principle of sincerity, equality and mutual benefit, and urge Chinese companies to strictly abide by local laws and regulations, hold themselves accountable to the quality of the contracted projects and goods and to consumers and shoulder due responsibility to local communities and the environment. At the same time, I call on relevant African countries to strengthen market regulation and public security measures and protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies in Africa and the safety of their employees.

Problems, after all, are isolated cases in the whole picture of ChinaAfrica cooperation. In recent years, the deepening of cooperation has been the mainstream and general trend. In 2013, China-Africa trade reached US$210 billion, 2,000 times that of 1960. China has been Africa’s biggest trading partner for five years running. More than 2,500 Chinese companies are operating in Africa, creating over 100,000 jobs for the local communities. Last year, the over 1.4 million visits by Chinese travellers generated huge amount of exchange revenue for Africa. According to an IMF report, China-Africa cooperation has contributed to more than 20% of Africa’s development. The “China factor” has been more and more evident in Africa’s development. China-Africa cooperation has brought real benefits to peoples of both sides and holds broad prospects.

China is accused of pursuing “neocolonialism” in Africa by some media. What is your comment on this?

China and African countries are tested brothers and partners committed to common development. In the cooperation with Africa, China has always upheld the principles of equality, mutual benefit, real results, efficiency, sincerity and credibility and never attached any political strings to its assistance to Africa. This has been China’s decades-long practice without any deviation. China-Africa cooperation has contributed to Africa’s development with a keen focus on social development and people’s wellbeing. The aim is to improve Africa’s investment environment and its people’s lives. Numerous infrastructure projects built with Chinese assistance, including schools, hospitals, stadiums and urban water and power supply systems, have improved the living and working conditions of African people. To lessen Africa’s burden, China had altogether cancelled RMB20 billion worth of debts owed by African countries by the end of 2013. To enhance African countries’ own development capacity, China has worked actively to help African countries develop their own modern and well-equipped manufacturing sector and agricultural system through industrial and financial cooperation to strengthen the foundation of China-Africa cooperation. For China and Africa, cooperation means opportunities; cooperation is win-win.

Like many African countries, China once suffered foreign invasion and fell under colonial and semi-colonial rule. “Do not do to others what you do not want done to you” is a millennia-old idea important in Chinese civilization. The so-called “China’s neo-colonialism in Africa” is a false accusation inconsistent with Chinese tradition and culture, and does not reflect the reality of friendly, equal-footed and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Africa. A number of African leaders have stated in public that Africa, with a history of colonialism, knows well what colonialism means and will not be misled by such accusation. I wish to assure our African friends in all seriousness that China will never pursue a colonialist path like some countries did or allow colonialism, which belonged to the past, to reappear in Africa. China will forever be a reliable friend and true partner of the African people and contribute to Africa’s endeavour in developing its beautiful home continent.