China plays important role in Africa's development: AU chief

CAPE TOWN - African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Thursday that Africa expects China to help build "the Africa we want."

Addressing the opening of the two-day China-Africa Colloquium at University of Cape Town, Dlamini-Zuma lauded China's support to Africa in its fight against colonialism and struggle for independence.

China's assistance to Africa continued all along these years as could be demonstrated by China's timely support to West African countries during the recent outbreak of the Ebola epidemic, the AU chief said.

In addition to helping Africa with its infrastructure development, China has also trained thousands of Africans in various fields, Dlamini-Zuma said.

China also plays an important role in helping maintain peace and security in Africa, she added.

Dlamini-Zuma said that under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Africa-China relations have developed even faster.

She said that while the AU is pushing the Agenda 2063, a blueprint for Africa's future development, "there is a lot we can learn from China" in terms of industrialization, infrastructure development, human resource development, and peace and security maintenance.

She stressed that Africa wants to further its cooperation with China in building a more just and more reasonable international order.

Chinese Ambassador Tian Xuejun said at the colloquium that China-Africa relationship "is an active and dynamic factor of international relations with greater influence."

He reviewed the great developments in China-Africa relations over the past years, notably the trade volume between the two sides. In 2000, the trade volume between China and Africa was only $10 billion, while last year, it topped $220 billion.

During the same period, China's investment in Africa has also sharply increased from $500 million to $30 billion.

Tian also warned against "some malicious accusations which distort and smear China-Africa cooperation."

He said China-Africa relations will inevitably encounter some problems in the process of development, but these problems are only growing pains which should be viewed and solved in the light of development.

"China will actively practice the concept of 'sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith' in the cooperation with Africa and the balanced approach to interests and principals, which are proposed by (Chinese) President Xi Jinping," Tian said.

"China will work with African friends to build China-Africa relations into a good example of cooperation between developing countries."