Beijing disproves statements by US Secretary of State on China-Africa relations

Beijing. March 12. Silkroadnews - Supporting Africa in realizing peace, stability and development serves the common interests and is also the shared responsibility of the international community, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told a regular press conference on March 7, People’s Daily reported.
Ghen made the statement after the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made groundless accusations about China-Africa cooperation, saying the Chinese investments lead to an increase in debt in Africa.
China welcomes the diversification of international partnership in Africa and sincerely hopes the international community can increase its contribution to the development of Africa.
Geng called on other countries to develop relations with Africa to support the peace and development of the continent and make a positive contribution to its prosperity, instead of making irresponsible remarks.
He also touched on the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to be held in September this year, and added, China and Africa are currently working closely to coordinate and prepare for the summit.
We believe that the summit will surely achieve fruitful outcomes and inject strong impetus into the development of Africa and the China-Africa cooperation, the agency cited Geng saying.
The debts of some African countries have been accumulating for a long period of time, not in recent years, he said, stressing that China is not the main creditor of African countries.
He said that financing support is indispensable for any country that is at the stage of economic takeoff, especially the initial stage of industrialization. Without financing, it would be difficult for African countries to achieve industrialization and modernization, the publication reads.
Currently, China is the largest trading partner, a major source of investment and a major contractor for projects in Africa. The country has helped African nations build many significant and large-scale projects, including the Addis-Ababa-Djibouti railway project and the Nairobi-Mombasa railway, and has moved forward in the field of industrial capacity-building with such countries as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and the Republic of the Congo.
In 2013, the volume of China-Africa trade exceeded $200 billion. China was Africa’s largest trading partner for a period of five consecutive years from 2012 to 2016.