Related story: Premier Wen to visit seven African countries
BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- China and Africa are
establishing a new type of strategic partnership and Chinese premier's upcoming
visit to Africa will further consolidate and develop such a relation, a Chinese
official said.
The official with the Foreign Ministry said on Friday
that during the visit by premier Wen Jiabao to seven African countries, several
dozens of agreements of cooperation will be signed between the two sides.
The agreements will cover various fields, such as
politics, economy and trade, culture, education, health, agriculture and science
and technology, according to the official. Wen will pay official visits to
Egypt, Ghana, the Republic of Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda
from June 17 to 24.
This will be Wen's second visit to Africa since he
participated in a China-Africa forum in Ethiopia in December 2003. Wen will hold
talks with leaders of the seven countries and exchange views on promoting
bilateral relations, according to Foreign Ministry sources.
TIME-HONORED FRIENDS
China has been stepping up efforts to consolidate
relations with African countries over recent years. It published some documents
on its African policy early this year and Chinese President Hu Jintao visited
three African nations in April. Besides, a summit and the third ministerial
level meeting of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum will held in Beijing in
November. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between
China and African countries. There have been more than 800 high level visits
between the two sides since 50 years ago. Among these visits, more than 160
visits were paid by Chinese leaders and foreign ministers to Africa and 676 ones
by leaders of ministerial level and higher levels of 51 African countries to
China.
China has now established diplomatic relations with
47 African countries.
ECONOMIC PARTNERS IN NEW CENTURY
Economic and trade relations between China and Africa
have also developed rapidly. In 2000, bilateral trade volume topped 10 billion
U.S. dollars for the first time. The number in 2005 hit 39.7 billion dollars,
more than 800 times of that of 50 years ago, the sources said.
China has had a total of direct investment in Africa
of 1.18 billion dollars and initiated more than 800 enterprises of various types
in Africa.
Within the framework of the China-Africa Cooperation
Forum, established in 2000, China has remitted 156 debts of 31 African
countries, amounting to 10.5 billion yuan (some 1.3 billion U.S. dollars).
China has also eliminated tariff on 190 categories of
products exporting from 29 least developed African countries to China. Besides,
China has announced to train 10,000 personnel of various kinds for African
countries in the recent 3 years and listed 16 African countries as the tourist
destination status countries for Chinese citizens.
In the past 50 years, China has aided nearly 900
projects in Africa related to economic and social development, sent 16,000
person-times of medical care personnel to Africa, offered government scholarship
for 50 African countries and sent more than 3,000 officers and soldiers to carry
out the United Nations task of safeguarding peace in Africa.
CHINA RECEIVES STRONG SUPPORT FROM AFRICAN
COUNTRIES
The African countries have also supported China a lot in
its 11 times of defeating anti-China proposals at the United Nations Human
Rights Commission and the 13 times of rejection by the UN General Assembly to
Taiwan's attempts of returning to the United Nations, said the sources.
China received strong support from African countries
in its successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2010 World Expo.
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