Africa's leaders race to China summit to talk cooperation
Source: DW.com
Exalted as a "mega-event," the Africa-China summit is expected to draw nearly all of Africa's leaders to Beijing. "It will be the biggest summit of all time." Those were the words of China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a press briefing last week. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is set to take place in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday — "an event of global significance ...”
And Africa expert Zeng Aiping of the China Institute of International Studies hailed the frequent Africa visits of President Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader has already made four separate trips to various African countries — more than any previous Chinese head of state. This policy is bearing fruit, said Aiping: "The relations are developing at a tearing pace and at the highest level."
The growth in trade between China and Africa is actually impressive: According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the volume of trade in 2000 stood at $10 billion. In the 17 years since, the figure has risen twentyfold to $200 billion. In the meantime, Africa's trade with Europe and the United States has stagnated for years.
Alongside the economic components, China-Africa cooperation also has political and cultural components. In South Sudan, where China is part of a peace mission, and in Djibouti, where China has a military base, it's already exercised great political influence, says Kappel. At a China-Africa summit in Johannesburg, Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged $60 billion in assistance and loans for Africa.
Date Sept 2, 2018
Author: Antonio Cascais
Read more: https://www.dw.com/en/africas-leaders-race-to-china-summit-to-talk-cooperation/a-45301681
(Meanwhile, Trump goes golfing, and calls Africa a ‘s___t hole’)
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and has handed that position over to China on a gold platter. Tell me again how he is 'making' America Great Again.
