SHANGHAI, May 16: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on the world community on Wednesday to do more to help Africa as he opened the annual meeting of the African Development Bank in Shanghai.
Debt relief and technology transfers were among the tools wealthier nations could use to help boost growth in Africa, Wen said at the start of the much-anticipated two-day gathering in China's financial hub.
“Africa needs to rely on itself to sustain development but international support and systems are also indispensable,” Wen told delegates.
“We call on the international community to deliver on aid pledges to Africa and reduce and cancel African debt, improve its terms and market access, and increase technology transfers.” While Wen opened the Shanghai gathering by pointing out what the world can do for Africa, Western critics have said Beijing is really interested in what the resource-rich continent can do for China.
These are worries that also emerged during a historic Sino-African summit in Beijing late last year and the Chinese premier appeared intent on addressing these issues which have clouded relations. “We are truly sincere in helping Africa speed up its economic and social development for the benefit of African countries and its people,” he said.
For decades, China played on its solidarity with developing African nations but in recent years it has looked to the continent as a source of oil and other natural resources, as well as a growing market for its goods.
China imports about 30 per cent of its oil needs from Africa while bilateral trade reached $55.46 billions last year, a five-fold increase since 2001, according to Chinese statistics.Sino-African trade is responsible for around 20 per cent of Africa's economic growth, Chinese Deputy Commerce Minister Wei Jianguo said, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper.
It is the first time the African Development Bank has met in Asia and only the second occasion it has gathered outside Africa, reflecting the immense importance that many of the region's nations attach to China.
Highlighting the warming ties, Chinese President Hu Jintao made a 12-day tour of eight African nations this year on his third visit to the continent since taking office in 2003.
While China's interests in Africa's resources are well-known -- Angola is one of its top oil suppliers — much less is known about the size and scope of Beijing's financial aid to the continent.
It recently approved the China-Africa Development Fund, which is scheduled to eventually disburse a total of five billion dollars in funds, the China Daily reported on Wednesday.—AFP
