China honors its solemn commitment for China-Africa common development

Li Jinzao, Co-Chairman of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of FOCAC and Vice Minister of Commerce of China, gives an interview on the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and trade and economic cooperation between China and Africa.

I. At the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2009, the Chinese government announced eight new measures (the "New Eight") to support the development of Africa in the coming three years. How do you evaluate the implementation and effects of these measures?

Six measures of the "New Eight" are about economic cooperation and trade under, covering a dozen of areas. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the two sides, these measures have been implemented effectively over the past two years. In terms of development assistance, more than 30 agricultural teams have been dispatched and schools are being built and medical supplies delivered as scheduled. With regard to credit and financing, we have signed agreements on loans of a preferential nature with African countries, offering a credit line of USD 8 billion. In terms of trade promotion, we have extended zero-tariff treatment to 60% of imports from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa with which China has diplomatic relations. It is expected that the implementation of all the promotion measures will be completed by the end of this year as scheduled.

These measures have improved livelihood and development conditions for Africa, enhancing the continent's capacity for "blood generation". Take Uganda as an example. The Chinese technical team taught over 3000 locals to raise freshwater fish and process fish feeds. Roads in Uganda are repaired and maintained with concessional loans from China to facilitate the movement of people and goods in the country. Thanks to tariff exemption measures, Uganda's exports to China grew by 32% and 51% respectively in 2010 and 2011, higher than its overall export growth over the same period.

II. While China-Africa trade is growing rapidly, African countries express their complaint about the quality of Chinese products and their expectation on a greater access to the Chinese market. What is your opinion?

In 2011, China-Africa trade hit USD166.3 billion, a year-on-year growth of 31% or 16 times that in 2000. China's imports reached USD 93.2 billion, up 39% year-on-year.

Chinese exports are able to meet demands of African consumers from all walks of life with good quality and fair price. Nevertheless, we have noticed that there are a handful of people illegally manufacturing and selling counterfeited and shoddy products, to which the Chinese government attaches great importance. In 2010, the Ministry of Commerce and other eight agencies of the Chinese government conducted a "Special Campaign against Exporting Counterfeits and IPR Infringing Goods to Africa". As the next step, we will continue to work with Africa to phase in a joint action mechanism combining short-term campaigns with permanent governance to protect the market from cheap shoddy fakes.

While selling goods with better quality to Africa, China has adopted a series of measures to buy more from Africa such as exempting duty and building African Commodities Exhibition and Distribution Centers. For example, over 20 African business owners have registered and sold African specialties in the Yiwu African Commodities Distribution Center since it opened in 2011. We will continue to extend duty free treatment to cover more products, strengthen cooperation in areas such as customs clearance and quality inspection and quarantine, and promote balanced and sound development of China-Africa trade.