Chinese investors aid African society

BEIJING -- At a manufacturing center located near South Africa's Nelson Mendela Bay, local citizens and Chinese investors are working together to bring out the city's industrial potential.

A manufacturing center in the Coega Industrial Development Zone built with a $100-million-investment from Chinese automaker First Auto Work (FAW) has become an example of sustained China-Africa economic relations.

China's trade and economic cooperation with Africa has played a positive role in the continent's development, Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesman Shen Danyang said Tuesday when responding to a question concerning recent claims made by Nigerian central bank governor Lamido Sanusi.

The governor wrote earlier this month in the Financial Times that "Africa must shake off its romantic view of China, accept Beijing as a competitor as much as a partner and realize that it is capable of the same exploitative practices as the old colonial powers."

Cooperation between China and Africa covers not only traditional areas like agriculture and mining, but also modern industries like manufacturing, financing, real estate and tourism, according to Shen.

Gregory Billson, a consultant specializing in the policies of South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry, said investments by Chinese enterprises, including FAW, Sinosteel and Hisense, in South Africa have been made in tandem with local economic development strategies.

They have helped upgrade South Africa's manufacturing sector, as well as boosted local economic growth, Billson said.

The FAW center in South Africa is expected to create 500 jobs for local residents. It will also boost the construction, services and logistics industries, said Noxolo Kiviet, premier of Eastern Cape province, where Nelson Mendela Bay is located.

According to MOC data, China's foreign direct investment in Africa had reached $20 billion by 2012, with $3 billion added to the total last year.

Chinese companies have not only pumped money into the continent's booming industrial sector, but also helped to train a considerable number of management and technical professionals.

Data from the Sinosteel Corporation indicates that the company, one of the first Chinese businesses to enter Africa through direct investment, has 4,000 local employees working in its South African joint venture. At China Construction Bank's Johannesburg branch, two-thirds of the staff are from South Africa.

Eighty percent of the staff of the South African subsidiary of the Hisense Group, a Chinese consumer electronics firm, are local residents.

Hisense has also vowed to use 1 percent of its annual profits to improve social welfare in South Africa. The company co-sponsored the SEED initiative under the United Nations Environment Program in 2011, a project that aims to help local start-ups boost growth and eradicate poverty.

Today's Africa is a sea of opportunity, said Jan de Bruyn, board member of the Coega Development Corporation.

China will continue its role as a staunch supporter of Africa's development, President Xi Jinping said Tuesday in a joint interview with Xinhua and media outlets from BRICS countries.

"No matter how the international landscape changes, China will continue to support and promote Africa's efforts to achieve peace, stability, prosperity and development, seek strength through unity and participate in international affairs on the basis of equality, " Xi said.

The newly-elected president of China is scheduled to visit Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo from March 22 to 30 and attend the fifth BRICS summit on March 26 and 27 in Durban, South Africa, according to the Foreign Ministry.