SHARM EL-SHEIK (Egypt) - CHINA'S premier on Sunday pledged US$10 billion (S$13.9 billion) in concessional loans to African nations over the next three years and said Beijing would cancel the government debts of some of the poorest of those countries, as the Asian powerhouse looked to deflect criticism that its investments in the continent were motivated purely by greed.
At a two-day China-Africa summit that began on Sunday, Mr Wen Jiabao also said China would build 100 new clean energy projects for Africa over the same period as part of an effort to help the continent deal with climate change issues.
The pledges are part of China's increasing push into Africa, a drive that has drawn criticism from some who argue that Beijing's quest for natural resources to fuel its growing economy is ignoring the troubling human rights record of many of Africa's governments.
Mr Wen said that as part of its support for Africa and growing trade ties with China, Beijing would take eight new measures over the next three years, including helping Africa build up its financing capacity.
He said China would provide US$10 billion in concessional loans to African countries and support Chinese financial institutions in an effort to set up US$1 billion in special loans to small and medium sized African businesses.
He also said that for the most heavily indebted and least developed African nations, China would cancel their debts associated with interest free government loans set to mature at the end of this year. -- AP
