The deal includes the construction of energy infrastructure like the Kaleta hydro dam earlier built by China. File Photo

The President of Guinea, Prof. Alpha Condé, who is also Chair of the African Union (AU), over the weekend, concluded a week-long visit to China. During his stay, he represented the continent at the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, BRICS economic bloc summit in Xiamen, Fujian province, from September 3-5. He also took part in the China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region that held from September 6-9. On both occasions, President Condé discussed China-Africa cooperation and Chinese investments in his country. In an interview with this reporter in Yinchuan on September 7, the Guinean leader talked about the strategic deal his country struck with China.

“I met many Chinese investors. I visited a rice production company and another that grows flowers in Yinchuan. During the BRICS summit in Xiamen, we held discussions with the Chinese government on investing in our country and China-Africa cooperation in general. My country signed a strategic agreement with China under which they will invest 20 billion US dollars over 20 years in infrastructure, energy, etc. We agreed to pay back by supplying China with raw material, using royalties from mining as surety for repaying this debt,” he explained.

In order to assess what benefits Africa drew from the Xiamen BRICS summit, the President said it was important first to evaluate how much Africa has evolved since the African Union summit last year in Kigali, Rwanda. “This summit took very important decisions concerning the future of the AU. The first major decision had to do with running the African Union Commission. Currently, most of its funding comes from external sources like the European Union. We need to be financially independent. It was agreed that each country should levy a 0.2 percent tax on all imports from outside the continent to cover all the financial needs of the AU Commission,” Alpha Condé recalled.

The Guinean leader admitted that the problem with the Africa Union is that many decisions are taken, but no action is taken after. “President Paul Kagame of Rwanda who is in charge of reforming the AU, said over the years, the organization took 1,500 decisions, but nothing concrete was done. It was then decided that henceforth not more than three decisions will be taken at a summit. In this light, next July’s AU summit will assess how far we have gone in implementing the decisions of the last meeting such as investing in youth,” he explained.

According to the African Union Chairman, the continent can only draw maximum benefits from its cooperation with BRICS and other international organizations if leaders ensured better coordination of their activities and spoke with one voice.

*Kimeng Hilton Ndukong, a contributor to People’s Daily Online, is Sub-Editor for World News with Cameroon Tribune bilingual daily newspaper in Cameroon. He is currently a 2017 China-Africa Press Centre, CAPC fellow.