BEIJING, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The allegations of "China threat" in Africa are "unfounded" and distort the current China-Africa relations, said Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan here Monday.

    "The economic cooperation and trade between China and Africa are mutually beneficial," Tang said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

    "China wishes Africa well and is committed to helping Africa and hopes to see Africa grow and become stronger," he said.

    China's development has created a growing export market for Africa, said Tang. In recent years, China's imports from Africa has increased rapidly. Its import from Africa in 2005 reached 21.1billion U.S. dollars, more than a half of the 39.8 billion two-way trade volume, exceeding China's export to Africa.

    China's development also has created more job opportunities for Africa. The Chinese government encourages established and reputable Chinese companies to make investment in diversified forms in Africa, Tang said.

    According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, China's total investment in Africa has reached 6.27 billion U.S.dollars, over 800 non-financial investment projects are launched in 49 African countries, covering trade, manufacturing and processing, resource development, communications, agriculture and others.

    China will develop new forms of cooperation, expand the scale of investment, upgrade cooperation and provide quality service to promote common development of both China and Africa, the State Councilor said.

    Moreover, China has endeavored to provide sincere assistance to Africa. Up to now, over 720 major projects have been completed in 49 African countries with Chinese assistance,and 58 projects have been launched in 26 African countries with preferential loans from China.

    China has exempted 10.9 billion yuan (RMB) of debts of 31 heavily indebted poor countries and least developed countries in Africa, and extends zero-tariff treatment to some imports from 28 least developed countries in Africa. China has also trained over 14,600 African personnel in various fields.

    It is hardly avoidable that some problems may occur in the process of continuous expansion of China-Africa cooperation, said Tang, adding the problems are limited in nature and can be resolved through cooperation and consultation in accordance with the principles of equality and mutual accommodation.

    China appreciates the concern of some African countries on trade deficit and textiles and is taking measures to work with African nations to deal with the problems, he said.

    "I also wish to point out that China-Africa cooperation is transparent, open and inclusive by nature," said Tang.

    "It will not affect the cooperation of China or African countries with a third party, nor will it hurt the interests of any third party. Quite on the contrary, strengthened China-Africa cooperation and common development will only bring good opportunities for the rest of the world." Enditem