China wants an economically independent Africa

(AP:SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt) China's focus on agriculture and infrastructure development in Africa aims to help the poverty-ravaged continent achieve economic independence, its commerce minister said Monday, stepping up a push by the Asian giant to battle criticism it was plundering the continent's resources.

Chen Deming's remarks at the second day of a two-day China-Africa summit sought to cast a softer tone to China's trade ties and investment drive into Africa _ an effort that has seen trade explode tenfold since 2000 to hit almost $107 billion last year.

This year "symbolizes the renewal of China-Africa relations," Chen told ministers at the Forum on China-Africa Partnership. "China will continue to pursue the agenda of friendship, peace, cooperation and development with African countries by advancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation ... on the basis of mutual benefits."

Beijing seeks to help in "facilitating Africa's regional economic integration and promoting its economic independence," he added.

At the summit on Sunday, China's premier, Wen Jiabao, pledged $10 billion in new easy term loans to African nations as part of a "selfless" plan based on "mutual respect" to further boost Sino-African cooperation and trade and the continent's development.

Such phrases have emerged as often repeated buzz words at the summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort, reflecting a concerted push by both China and African nations to highlight the partnership represents an economic symbiosis _ not a one-way street in which Beijing can tap the continent's resources to fuel its growing economy.

The accusations have dogged China's push into Africa, with critics contending Beijing is indiscriminately pumping money into the continent without regard to the individual countries' human rights record or offering terms that ensure Africans walk away with a lasting benefit from the investments.

From oil exploration in Sudan to mining ventures in Guinea, the investments are merely tools for stripping the resource rich continent of its sources of wealth, critics contend. In return, Beijing is sending back inexpensive finished Chinese goods.

China has bristled at the accusations, with Wen saying Sunday that such claims of neocolonialism were "untenable."

Some African representatives at the summit also took issue, saying the claims implied that Africans were not up to managing their own resources.

"We set our own priorities," Sam Kutesa, Uganda's foreign affairs minister told The Associated Press on the summit's sidelines. Africans are using China's resources "to help us exploit ours."

"Western countries have no more standing about asking Africa how its resources are exploited because they have exploited them forever," he said.

Also Sunday, Rwandan President Paul Kagame told summit participants that it was up to African nations to make clear their development priorities.

The Asian giant has been involved in Africa for over 50 years, but its investment push gained serious momentum during a 2006 China-Africa summit in Beijing in which China pledged $5 billion in easy loans, among other initiatives.

Trade has since mushroomed and Chinese officials have stressed they have honored commitments from the last summit and are equally determined to follow through on the new initiatives announced by Wen.

The plan, which is to be implemented over the next three years, includes the new $10 billion in loans, debt forgiveness, setting up 100 new energy projects and stepping up agriculture and infrastructure development.

Some African nations say they've learned valuable lessons from the past and are keen to ensure China isn't allowed to exploit the continent in the way they say the West did during the colonial era.

"If we set our priorities and believe in an equal partnership, then we can move better than we have in the past," Uganda's Kutesa said.



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