Interview: China-Africa forum provides new momentum for future cooperation: Chinese ambassador

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 29, 2003

Interview: China-Africa forum provides new momentum for future cooperation: Chinese ambassador

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The Sino-Africa relation was gaining new momentum since the launch of China-Africa Cooperation Forum in 2000, and the forum has establishing a new cooperation mechanism for two regions in new century, Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Liu Guijin said in a recent interview.

"The China-Africa Cooperation Forum provides a platform for two sides exchange views, strengthen understanding and extend cooperation," Liu said.

Being a senior diplomat and the secretary general of the first ministerial conference hold in Beijing, 2000, Liu knew the forum well.

He said that during the past three years, more than 30 African leaders have visited China, and most Chinese leaders also visited Africa. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is going to attend the second Ministerial Conference of the forum, due to be held in Ethiopia this December.

The regular visits by leaders of two sides have put the Sino-Africa relations in a new level. Liu Guijin said that Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry has established regular consulting mechanism with 24 African country's corresponding ministries, and Chinese officials regularly discussed international affairs with their African counterparts.

During World Trade Organization talks in Mexican resort of Cancun in September, China, South Africa and other countries formed a united front to protect developing countries' interest.

Economic cooperation was playing a more and more important rolein China-Africa cooperation. According to Liu, before the year 2000, the trade volume between China and Africa has never surplus 10 billion US dollars, but after that year, every year the total trade amount created new record.

In 2002, trade volume between China and Africa reached 12.4 billion dollars, while in the first nine months of 2003, the number has rocketed to 13.39 billion, a 50 percent of increase comparing with the same period of last year.

"African customers like the Chinese commodities, which has good qualities and competitive price; while China, after more than twenty years of reform and opening up, has a lot of advanced technologies that fit Africa," Liu said.

The Chinese ambassador pointed out the cooperation between China and African countries are mutual beneficial. With the rapid growth of Chinese economy, China became an enormous market for African energy and other natural resources.

In South Africa, the Kumba Resources Ltd, a main mining companyin the country, has exported 10 million tons of iron ore to China a year, "and I think even if it doubles its export to China, it would be OK," Mr. Liu said, with a smile on face.

On African side, with the acceleration of world globalization, Africa, the cradle of human being, was increasingly worried about being marginalised. African countries have reached consensus that now the priority for them was developing economy.

Not like some countries, China has never exploited African resources. Chinese companies have joined hands with local businessmen to explore the resources and both sides benefited from the cooperation. China has attached great importance to the environment protection in these countries, Liu stressed.

Africa is also an important market for China. "We can not put all eggs in one basket," said Liu, "We must diversify our market. There should be more Chinese enterprises coming to Africa, bringing more technologies and investment. Since African market used to be monopolized by Western companies, we should be quicker,there are not much time left."

During the first meeting of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum,China promised to deduct 10 billion yuan RMB (about 1.21 billion dollars) debt owned by African countries. China has honored its words: by the end of 2002, China has written off loans of 10.5 billion yuan (about 1.27 billion dollars).

China has also sent peacekeeping missions to African conflicting areas, including the Chinese engineering soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. China also donated money forthe African Union's peacekeeping fund.

On human resources development, Liu said that since 2000, Chinahas trained about 7,000 experts for Africa, including diplomats, doctors and agricultural professionals. China has also sent 500 teachers, doctors and other experts to dozens of African countries.

For the coming second ministerial meeting of the forum, Liu told Xinhua that the Chinese government was considering some priorities for future cooperation, which are infrastructure construction, agriculture, human resources development and disease prevention. All these fields are the focus of New Partnership for Africa's Development, Africa's new rejuvenation plan in the new millionaire.

China is also considering giving some African products free duty preferential conditions and makes more African countries as the destination countries for Chinese tourist, Liu added.

"With a history of only three years, China-Africa Cooperation Forum was a new thing, it needs development and perfection, and I believe with efforts from both sides, we can tap the great potentials of Sino-Africa relations," Liu said.

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