China’s new Foreign Minister visit to Africa, a sign of solid cooperation

Published January 17,2023

By staff writer

 The new Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang visit to five African countries at the start of his term of office is a sign of solid cooperation that China attaches to the continent. From January 9-16, Qin Gang travelled to Ethiopia, Angola, Benin, Gabon and Egypt. The new foreign minister was appointed after serving as the ambassador of China to the United Sates.  It now a common tradition for more than three decades for Chinese foreign Ministers to start each year with a trip to African countries.

China is number one bilateral trading partner with Africa, and for over the last 20 years, China’s trade with Africa has risen 20-fold.  To balance the trade gap, China has also pledged to import USD 300 billion of African products by 2025. The China-Africa cooperation is a symbiotic relationship (win-win cooperation) from which both parties stand to gain. China has also funded huge infrastructure projects that have tremendously improved economies of African countries.

During his trip to Ethiopia, the Chinese foreign Minister commissioned a state of the art headquarter of the Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC). In    a joint press conference with African Union Commission chairman, Moussa Faki Mahmat, Qin explained that in recent years, African countries have been actively promoting economic and social development, but insufficient funds have become the main bottleneck restricting Africa’s prosperity and revitalization. How to balance development financing and debt growth is a problem that countries must face in their development. Qin Gang rejected the so-called debt trap accusation, saying China has always been committed to helping Africa ease its debt pressure.

“China and Africa are good brothers who share the same destiny, and the two sides stand side by side on the road of common development”, Qin said. “Through actively participating in the G20 debt service suspension initiative, signing debt suspension agreements or reaching a consensus on debt suspension with 19 African countries, China has suspended the largest amount of debt among G20 countries. China has also actively participated in the G20 common framework to deal with individual cases of debts for Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia.” Qin’s comments were a swipe at statements US officials have made repeatedly, criticizing China’s perceived lack of transparency regarding loans it or its companies have made to African nations.

In August last year, China cancelled 23 loans for 17 African countries, while between 2000 and 2019; at least $3.4 billion of debt in Africa was written off.

Although western countries try to tarnish the image of China in Africa, developmental projects that China have accomplished in Africa speak for themselves. Several infrastructure and industrialization project under the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the Forum for China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) have changed Africa’s landscape, created jobs and contributed immensely to poverty alleviation.