Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday that China will provide 360 billion yuan (more than $50 billion) in financial support to Africa over the next three years, APA reports citing CNBC.
Xi spoke on the second day of the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit, which is expected to deliver new policies and cooperation agreements that will set the stage for China-Africa relations in the next three years.
“The China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history,” Xi said, according to an official translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.
“China is ready to deepen cooperation with Africa in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment,” Xi said, urging both sides to jointly advance modernization that is “open and win-win.”
The high-profile summit came as China seeks to recalibrate its economic ties and trade agreements with Africa as well as strengthening relations with developing economies amid geopolitical tension with the West.
Leaders from over 50 African nations gathered in Beijing this week, many of whom — including South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Kenya’s President William Ruto — have spoken with Xi in one-on-one meetings in the lead up to the summit, according to Chinese state media.
By the end of the summit, leaders from both sides are expected to reach deals on trade and investment, and sign key documents like Beijing’s three-year action plan. The summit has previously seen Beijing making huge financial pledges to fund massive infrastructure projects across Africa.
The visiting delegates will also be working to negotiate with Beijing on loan terms in a bid to resolve growing debt burdens at home.
The summit also came as the country tries to sell more green tech products to the region like electric vehicles and solar panels — items that face hefty export tariffs in the West. It is the largest diplomatic event that China has hosted in recent years, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong said in the summit’s media briefing on Aug. 23.
But it might be a challenging task for Xi, after China did not meet a pledge to buy $300 billion of African goods from the last Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in 2021.
