China’s cooperation with Africa has been dominated by commercial deals instead of aid as in the past, with $46 billion in direct Chinese investment and commercial loans having been signed since December 2015, Chinese officials said.
“At present, Chinese aid to Africa makes up only a very little part of our cooperation. … Investment cooperation has been the main avenue of China-Africa cooperation,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. Wang made the remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Beijing on delivering what was agreed on at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, NewsNow reported.
Only two weeks ago, Wang said, companies from China and Africa signed 64 agreements worth about $19 billion at a seminar in Beijing on China-Africa business cooperation.
The deals included direct investment and commercial loans worth $16.7 billion, accounting for 85% of the total volume, Wang said.
In December, 2015, President Xi Jinping announced at the Johannesburg Summit in South Africa 10 major China-Africa cooperation plans for the next three years, backed by $60 billion, including interest free loans and lending with preferential terms.
After Friday’s meeting, Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Ming said at a news conference that China and Africa have signed at least 243 cooperation agreements of various kinds worth $50.7 billion since the summit.
“Among these agreements, Chinese companies’ direct investment and commercial loans to Africa surpass $46 billion, accounting for 91% of the total volume,” he said.
