Message from Xi Jinping to African leaders: 'Choose China'
Speaking at a meeting held in Beijing with the participation of African countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to elevate cooperation between China and Africa to the 'highest level.' Leaders from dozens of African countries attended the meeting.
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12PUNTO FOREIGN NEWS
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted delegates from more than 50 African countries in Beijing this week. Western China experts state that the purpose of the meeting is to increase China's influence in Africa. According to experts, the main goal of the meeting is to prove beyond doubt that China is the continent's primary foreign partner.
On Thursday, at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People attended by dozens of African leaders and the UN Secretary-General, the Chinese leader promised to elevate ties between China and African countries to the level of 'an all-weather alliance with a shared future.' Beijing reserves this expression, which it uses from time to time, for its most loyal diplomatic allies.
Furthermore, Jinping made a series of promises to Africa to be fulfilled over the next three years. The promises were listed as follows: more than 50 billion dollars in financial support; the creation of one million jobs; tens of millions of dollars in food and military aid - and deepening cooperation with Africa in the fields of industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade, and investment.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Kenyan President William Ruto, and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu were among the leaders who gathered in the Chinese capital this week for the three-day forum, which Beijing described as its largest diplomatic gathering in recent years.
The forum organized by Xi for African governments comes at a time when China has begun to rein in its previously free-flowing funds for Africa's development. According to the US news organization CNN, China is facing criticism over its own economic slowdown and the fact that the loans it has provided to Africa have placed countries under an unsustainable debt burden.
Recently, other powers such as the US have been stepping up their efforts to strengthen ties with the resource-rich African continent in order to break China's political influence and secure access to resources critical for supporting the green energy transition.
The Chinese leader announced that he has committed to supporting 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in unnamed countries and set goals for a 'land-sea connectivity network.' The Chinese President also said that China would launch 30 new clean energy projects, which are seen as part of a move to make the African market a destination for green technologies such as solar panels and electric vehicles; these technologies are currently facing significant tariffs in the US and Europe.
Agreements made during bilateral meetings this week also included infrastructure. China, Zambia, and Tanzania signed a memorandum on Wednesday to 'revitalize' the existing Tanzania-Zambia Railway line. Nigeria and China issued a joint statement referring to the development of the West African country's 'transportation, ports, and free trade zones.'