China announces it will put another $10bn into Africa
CHINESE premier Wen Jiabao promised $10bn (£6bn) of low interest loans to African nations over three years, at the opening of the China-Africa summit yesterday.
The two-day forum being held in Egypt is being attended by representatives from 50 nations, including Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Omar al Bashir from Sudan.
Infrastructure, social programmes and the environment are all to be targeted through preferential loans
In an eight-point plan, Wen said China would forgive the debts of Africa’s poorest governments and build 100 new clean energy projects for the continent.
China has cultivated a lot of African business, exporting cheap products to the continent, while also investing heavily in oil and other natural resources.
According to official state sources, Chinese investment in Africa reached £16bn by the end of 2008.
At the last China-Africa cooperation summit, held in Beijing in 2006, China pledged $5bn of aid and reduced the debt of more than 30 African countries.
China’s motives are viewed with suspicion in the West, which believes Beijing should take a hard line on the human rights records of some African governments.