Summit ends with pledges on aid and swipe at critics
The leaders of China and African nations closed a two-day summit in Beijing yesterday by announcing a slew of commercial deals, promises of increased aid and a sharp rejoinder to western critics of their growing relationship.
Hu Jintao, China's president, pledged that Beijing would extend $5bn (�3.9bn, ￡2.6bn) in soft loans and credits to African nations and double aid overall by 2009.
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Chinese companies have also signed agreements with 11 African nations for investments worth $1.9bn in areas such as telecoms and technological equipment, infrastructure, raw materials, banking and insurance, according to Xinhua, the official news agency.
Sino-African trade has grown rapidly in the past five years, primarily because of increased demand from China for raw materials from the continent.
"The progress and development of China and Africa are making a major contribution to the advancement of human civilisation," said Mr Hu. "In international affairs, China and Africa enjoy trust and co-operate closely to uphold the legitimate rights and interests of the developing world."
China's renewed interest in a continent with which it established close ties in the 1960s has provoked criticism that Beijing is trampling over initiatives to combat corruption in its haste to secure resources.
Ato Seyoum Mesfin, the Ethiopian foreign minister, attacked what he called the western media's depiction of the meeting as a "summit of despots and dictators finding a new home to escape western pressure and accountability for human rights".
"Should we be seen in such a dimension? Absolutely not," Mr Seyoum said. "Is not development also a human right?"
Li Zhaoxing, China's foreign minister, also rejected criticism of China's African policy, saying that Beijing was not seeking a monopoly over oil resources. "We do not seek to influence Africa's co-operation with other countries," he said.
Angola overtook Saudi Arabia earlier this year as China's biggest single oil supplier. About a third of China's oil imports now come from the continent.
Sino-African two-way trade rose from $10bn in 2000 to an estimated $50bn this year, with Chinese leaders saying at the weekend that it should be expanded to $100bn by the end of the decade. The summit, the largest such meeting in China, seemed designed to add more political ballast to the growing economic partnership and provide a platform for further aid and investment.
Initiatives announced during the weekend include a commitment by China to train 15,000 African professionals, remove tariffs on a new batch of imports from the continent and establish up to five free-trade zones.
China will also build a new conference centre for the African Union.
中国承诺对非洲援助到2009年翻番
为期两天的中非合作论坛北京峰会于昨日闭幕。中非领导人宣布达成一系列商业协议，中国承诺增加对非洲的援助，双方还反驳了西方对双方关系日益密切的批评。
中国国家主席胡锦涛承诺，到2009年，中国将向非洲国家提供50亿美元的优惠贷款和信贷，并将对非洲的总体援助规模提高一倍。
据中国官方新闻机构新华社报道，中国企业也与11个非洲国家签署了价值19亿美元的投资协议，涵盖电信和技术设备、基础设施、原材料、银行和保险等领域。
中非贸易过去5年增长迅速，主要是因为中国对资源丰富的非洲大陆原材料需求出现增长。中国政府支持国有能源企业投资于资源项目，并为支持这些项目的基础设施项目提供优惠贷款。
中国在上世纪60年代就与非洲建立了紧密关系，现在它对非洲大陆兴趣重燃，招致了外界的批评，认为北京在仓促获取资源的过程中，践踏了国际社会的反腐败措施。
埃塞俄比亚外交部长阿托?塞尤姆?梅斯芬(Ato Seyoum Mesfin)称，西方媒体将此次会议描述为“专制者与独裁者的峰会，藉以找出一个新的避难所，逃避西方的压力和在人权方面的责任”。他对这一言论予以了抨击。
中国外交部长李肇星也驳斥了对中国非洲政策的批评。他表示，中国政府并没有试图垄断石油资源。
今年早些时候，安哥拉取代沙特阿拉伯成为中国最大的石油供应国。目前，中国约三分之一的石油进口来自非洲大陆。
中非双边贸易额在2000年为100亿美元，今年将增至约500亿美元。中国领导人上周末表示，到2010年，中非双边贸易额应增至1000亿美元。
周末宣布的行动计划还包括：中国承诺为非洲国家培训1.5万名专业人员，免除非洲大陆更多商品的进口关税，在非洲国家建立多至5个自由贸易区。
译者/何黎
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