Sino-African cooperation results in win-win outcomes: South African President

Aid given by China to African countries is not a sign of neo colonialism, but a gesture that is welcomed by African countries, while such fair cooperation can promote free trade and establish a multilateral world order, noted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“China wants to open access to its market for value-added products from Africa, as well as supporting the development of African countries, making it a wonderful partner for us. We don’t need a partner that creates barriers and stops others from trading,” said Ramaphosa during the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Monday.

According to a 2017 field study by McKinsey, in some 1,000 Chinese companies operating in eight African countries, 89 percent of the employees were from the local area. Two thirds of these companies provide on-the-job training for local employees and about half of them have set up apprentice workshops or schools.

“In this regard, China is not a country that plunders resources from the African Continent, but a partner which wants to assist its fellow partners to reach high-level industrialization,” he further added.

Rejecting claims of Chinese colonialism in Africa, President Ramaphosa applauded China’s continuous effort to foster equal and mutually beneficial relations with African countries, stressing that it is necessary to preserve multilateral global trade.

“There’s nothing wrong with saying that your country comes first, but it should not be done at the expense of other nations’ [interests]. We need a multilateral world and should obey rules that we all agree on,” said Ramaphosa.

The fair cooperation between Africa and China has already provided remarkable outcomes. According to Xinhua, China has been Africa's largest trading partner for nine consecutive years. In 2017, China's trade with Africa surged 14 percent year-on-year to 170 billion U.S. dollars. This fast growth continued into the first half of 2018 when the trade volume jumped 16 percent to nearly 100 billion dollars.

“China will support the industrialization of African countries, which is what we welcome. And a win-win outcome is what we want,” said President Ramaphosa.