China’s Xi pledges to support Africa’s industrialisation at Brics
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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the plenary session at the Brics summit in Johannesburg on Aug 23.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING/JOHANNESBURG - Chinese President Xi Jinping told African leaders at a meeting on the sidelines of the Brics summit on Thursday that China would launch initiatives to support Africa’s industrialisation and agricultural modernisation.
“China will better harness its resources for cooperation with Africa and initiatives of businesses to support Africa in growing its manufacturing sector and realising industrialisation and economic diversification,” he said, without providing details.
His pledge was made during a meeting with leaders and ministers from the African Union and 11 African countries – including Libya, Nigeria, Senegal and Zambia – as the summit in the South African city of Johannesburg wrapped up.
The Brics members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – on Thursday agreed to admit six new members, including Egypt and Ethiopia.
The pledge also comes after China’s top Africa diplomat Wu Peng said earlier this week that African countries wanted China to shift its focus from building infrastructure on the continent to local industrialisation.
Some analysts noted that China’s funding for infrastructure had already fallen.
“If African leaders are lobbying China for less infrastructure project financing, they are pushing on an open door,” said Dr Brad Parks, head of AidData, a research laboratory at American university William & Mary that tracks Chinese overseas lending and grants.
“In 2009, it issued grants and loans worth US$88 billion to support infrastructure projects in Africa. However, by 2021, its grant and loan commitments for infrastructure projects in Africa amounted to only US$24 billion (S$32 billion),” he said.
Professor David Monyae, director of the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Africa-China Studies, said that with overcapacity in China, it made sense for companies to move factories to Africa, adding that many were already doing well in industrial zones in Ethiopia and Kenya.
“They’re moving fast, they’re ready, they have the capital and the skills. They are first movers anyway,” he said. REUTERS
