China to step up support to Africa

President Xi Jinping on Thursday pledged to step up China’s support across debt-laden Africa with funding of nearly $51 billion (R904bn) over three years, backing for more infrastructure projects, and the creation of at least 1 million jobs.

China was ready to step up co-operation with Africa in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment, Xi told delegates from more than 50 African nations gathered in Beijing for the three-yearly Forum on China-Africa Co-operation Summit.

“China and Africa account for one-third of the world population. Without our modernisation, there will be no global modernisation,” Xi said.

China, the world’s biggest bilateral lender, promised to carry out three times as many infrastructure projects across resource-rich Africa despite Xi’s avowed new preference for “small and beautiful” schemes based around selling advanced and green technologies in which Chinese firms have invested heavily.

The Chinese leader committed 360 billion yuan (R904bn) in financial assistance over three years, but specified that 210bn would be disbursed through credit lines and at least 70bn in fresh investment by Chinese companies.

Smaller amounts would be provided through military aid and other projects.

At the 2021 China-Africa summit in Dakar, China promised at least $10bn in investment and the same again in credit lines. This time, the financial assistance would be in yuan, in an apparent push to further internationalise the Chinese yuan.

After the opening ceremony, delegates adopted the Beijing Declaration on building “a shared future in the new era” as well as the Beijing Action Plan for 2025-2027, Chinese state media said.

Xi also called for a China-Africa network of land and sea links and co-ordinated development, urging Chinese contractors to return to the continent now that Covid-19 curbs that disrupted its projects had been lifted.

He did not mention debt in his speech, despite Beijing being many African states’ biggest bilateral lender but the Action Plan included terms for repayment postponements and called for the establishment of an African rating agency.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the summit that African countries’ inadequate access to debt relief and scarce resources was a recipe for social unrest.

African lending arrangements vary from country to country. Gulf states like Saudi Arabia come after China for countries such as Ethiopia. Others like Kenya would have many creditors including European nations.

There are also debts to multilateral bodies such as the World Bank and private bond holders. The forum chalks out a three-year programme for China and every African state bar Eswatini, which retains ties to Taiwan.

In addition to 30 infrastructure connectivity projects, Xi said China was ready to launch 30 clean energy projects in Africa, offering to co-operate on nuclear technology and tackle a power deficit that has delayed efforts to industrialise. But he did not reiterate his pledge at the 2021 forum in Dakar for the Asian giant to buy $300bn’s worth of African goods, pledging only to unilaterally expand market access.

Analysts say Beijing’s rules on plant sanitary checks are too strict, making China unable to meet that promise.

But Africa looks set to receive more Chinese financing instead. Last year, China approved loans worth $4.61bn to Africa, in the first annual increase since 2016.

“I’m here to see how best we can foster our relationship with China,” Princess Dugba, Sierra Leone’s fisheries and marine resources minister, said on the summit’s sidelines.

“China is getting us a fish harbour, which is one of the first of its kind,” she said.