Smearing China in Africa: 'Wrong place, wrong topic, wrong target'

Lin Songtian, ambassador of the People's Republic of China to South Africa.

China has become more and more popular in Africa not by giving out lectures, teaching people what to do and what not to do, but by taking a series of concrete actions to sincerely and earnestly help Africa realize durable peace and self-sustainable development. Therefore, the American smearing China in Africa has obviously chosen the wrong place, wrong topic against a wrong target. That is why the Africans have stepped up to tell former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who paid his maiden trip to Africa recently that what he was talking about China is wrong and not true.

It is true that China's influence in Africa is growing every day. It is our strong belief that if you do good to friends and other people, you will get better from them.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed us that, in conducting China's relations with Africa, we should adhere to the principles of sincerity, practical results, affinity and good faith, and uphold the values of friendship, justice and shared interests. The essence of this instruction is to closely combine China's development and Africa's realization of self-sustainable development, so as to achieve win-win cooperation for common development.

As a result, apart from continued deepening friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) mechanism, China has also committed itself to connecting Africa to the Belt and Road Initiative to promote policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bond.

Through our joint efforts, China has for nine consecutive years remained Africa's largest trading partner, one of the most important investor, and source of tourists. Over 6,500 km of railways, over 6,000 km of highways, 200 plus schools, over 80 sports stadiums, and tens of government office buildings, parliamentary buildings and African Union Building, and many airports and seaports in Africa have been loaned and built by China. And because of China's contribution, the modernization of telecommunication has benefited the people on the continent.

Is China's influence in Africa good or bad? Only the African people can have the right to answer. The African people know too well that if they are not independent economically, they will never be independent politically. Only by realizing self-sustainable development can Africa truly get rid of external interference and say NO loudly to those finger-pointing people.

Some people on the one hand express their worry about China's influence in Africa. On the other hand, they do not want to contribute enough capital to help Africa build infrastructure, still less to encourage its businesses to invest in Africa. In essence, what they really want is to keep Africa as it was, poor and divided, to be always controlled by others. What they worry about is Africa's realization of economic independence with China's support. What they worry about is a strong Africa that can no longer be ordered around politically.

The Americans are making an excuse for themselves by accusing China of creating a debt crisis in Africa.

It's our strong belief that with its rich natural and human resources, Africa boasts huge development potential. Africa is a promising continent and is a new driving force to promote future world economic development.

It is known to all that, to realize self-sustainable development, African countries are facing three bottleneck issues, namely inadequate infrastructure, lack of professional and skilled personnel, and shortage of financial resources. To break those bottlenecks, Africa needs huge investment and financial support from the international community. Whoever can and will help Africa break those bottlenecks is Africa's true and reliable partner.

With an aim to help Africa break those three development bottleneck issues to accelerate industrialization and agricultural modernization, during the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit in December 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China-Africa Ten Major Cooperation Plans with a commitment of $60 billion of financial support in the next three years. That is the good example by China for the international community. Up to now, the total direct investment and financing from China to Africa has already exceeded $100 billion.

The Chinese government encourages its businesses to make investment in Africa. We support the Chinese financial institutions to provide financial support to Africa for infrastructure development, industrial parks, special economic zones, and production projects in accordance with the market principle and concept of intensive development. The concept of intensive development means to integrate infrastructure and industry planning and development in tandem.

Railways, roads and other infrastructures are built to promote and drive industry development in the surrounding areas, which in return could sustain the infrastructure, so as to ensure the profitability of the projects and accordingly to ensure the debt repayment capacity of the recipient countries.

As the major investor in the continent, China of course follows closely Africa's possible debt risks. And we also care about the safety of our investment. That is why we have been very serious with the feasibility study of each and every investment and financing project, making sure that the project is profitable, sustainable, and that the recipient is able to service debt. Giving out free loans without thinking about debt repayment and reasonable profits, any financial institutions in the world will go bankrupt. China is no exception.

Africa needs huge amounts of capital to develop its infrastructure to realize self-sustainable development. China is not a superpower, and cannot take on everything. The American friends are concerned that China is creating a debt crisis in Africa. They say so just to find an excuse for themselves not making financial support to Africa. But fundamentally, what they are worried about is Africa realizing economic independence with China's support. What they are worried about is to lose control over Africa. It is our sincere hope that the United States as a responsible superpower, could follow China to do the same in Africa and the world, to make its due contribution to truly support Africa's durable peace and self-sustainable development.

Some people claim that large amounts of Chinese development assistance in Africa are aiding corruption in African governments. This is an attempt to use the issue of corruption, a public enemy of all countries, to undermine China-Africa mutually beneficial cooperation.

This is my fourth posting to Africa. On behalf of my government, I have signed many agreements on bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation projects with African leaders. I can speak loudly and responsibly that all development assistance from the Chinese government to Africa goes directly to project contractors, to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness of the capital. Both I as the Chinese Ambassador and any African government officials cannot see or touch even a cent of those fund.

That is why China is able to deliver large numbers of tangible, visible and beneficial projects to the African people with less amount of development assistance to Africa than the developed countries. Today, the infrastructures financed and built by China can be found everywhere across the African continent, including highways, railways, airports, seaports, power plant, hospitals, schools, office buildings, parliamentary buildings, and stadiums.

We are very proud that Chinese development assistance to Africa has not only contributed to Africa's economic and social development, but also brought convenience to the American friends to visit or invest in Africa.

Some governments have huge budget from their own parliaments in the name of development assistance to Africa. But regrettably, it is very hard for the African people to see, still less to enjoy the outcomes of their assistance as infrastructure projects such as highways, railways, schools, parliamentary, office buildings or stadiums. The reality shows that some countries keep making empty promise, but no delivery. Those governments have taken the taxpayers' money far exceeding the amount of China's, but have no visible projects in Africa.

Poverty is the common enemy of the African people and the peoples of the world. We strongly believe that the right to work, the right to housing, the right to food, the right to hospital, and the right to school are the basic human rights for all peoples. Therefore, to grow economy to create jobs is the master key to address poverty and human rights.

But jobs only come from investors for production and visitors as tourists. I'm very proud that after over four decades of reform and opening up, China has become the second largest economy in the world and Africa's major investor and source of tourists. More and more Chinese companies are setting up their businesses in Africa, bringing with them over $100 billion of investment, transferring their skills and know-how to the locals, creating millions of local jobs, and improving the basic human rights of tens of thousands of households in Africa.

To support Africa to realize durable peace and self-sustainable development serves the common interests of Africa, China and the peoples of the world. It is also the common goal and responsibility of the international community. China is willing to work closely with all countries to uphold the principle of planning together, building together and sharing together, to jointly promote a community of shared future for mankind as proposed by President Xi Jinping, so as to empower the African people to promote development and share common prosperity with the peoples of the world.

It is our sincere hope that certain superpower could show an updated and broad mind and take concrete steps to honor its commitment and fulfill its due responsibilities. Don't forget, what Africa needs is capital and actions, not lectures. Don't forget, Africa is mature and wise enough to understand who is the true and reliable partner for their self-sustainable development.