Some African countries may seek to renegotiate repayment of existing debts to China as a way of helping their economies hit by lower crude and commodity prices, but will not turn down offers of new loans by the Asian giant at a summit this week, Reuters reported. African countries will also seek more Chinese investment in factories manufacturing goods for export in addition to roads and railways on a continent long seen as a major commodities and energy source for China. Chinese state-owned firms in Africa face criticism for using Chinese labor to build government-funded projects like roads and hospitals, while pumping out resources and leaving little for local economies, an image Beijing wants to change at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg on Dec. 3-4. China is Africa’s largest trading partner and the trade volume between them amounted to $220 billion in 2014, according to Xinhua. Its investments in Africa amounted to $32.4 billion at the end of 2014.
