BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Summit of the
Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has attracted scores of glowing media
reports with commentators in many parts of the world praising China's approach
to Africa.
The Italian Couriere dela Sierra said in a recent commentary that the FOCAC, attended by more than 40 state
leaders from China and Africa, was a "summit of friendship and cooperation" that
would have considerable influence on international relations.
China has turned her eyes to Africa in recent years
and made herself an important balance keeper in international geo-politics, said
the newspaper which boasts the largest circulation in Italy.
The Spanish La Vanguardia daily on Monday published
an article titled "China consolidates status in Africa", praising China's "new
style" in offering help to African countries. China gave the offers without
criticism of other countries' development strategies, without additional trade
conditions and without intervention in other countries' internal affairs.
The Sunday Times in South Africa cited a foreign
ministry spokesman as saying that China is not only an important country with
big market potential, mass population and rapidly developing economy, but also a
major engine for South-South cooperation. Africa hopes China could play a
crucial role in the politics and economy of the world, as well as in the reforms
of global trade systems.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of the most
influential newspapers in Germany, said on Monday that China had made it known
that it was Africa's partner by signing a new cooperation agreement at the
summit.
The African countries appreciated China's offers of
financial loans and aid without imposing any political conditions, the paper
said.
Deutsche Welle, Germany's major broadcasting station,
said that Africa's five-percent economic growth last year should first of all be
attributed to China, saying the country's opening up to Africa could not be
branded a "new form of colonialism."
Quoting Prime Minister Idriss Jettou, the Moroccan
News Agency said on Monday that the Beijing summit had achieved a comprehensive
success.
Jettou praised the Chinese government for having made
the important decision to enhance the Sino-African partnership by canceling some
debts owed by the heavily indebted poor countries, pledging aid packages and
establishing a special fund for encouraging investment in Africa, the agency
said.
Morocco's main newspaper Le Matin on Monday quoted
Moroccan King Mohammed VI's letter to the summit which said it was the time to
inject new dynamics into the current Sino-African cooperation.
Standing together with China, Morocco would explore
its potential to help develop the South Sahara African countries and promote the
Sino-African cooperation, under the advantage of its unique geographical
position.
In a series of news stories on the Sino-Africa
summit, the Yemen News Agency emphasized that the summit had focused on
"friendship, peace, co-operation and development", and was aimed at further
strengthening political and economic relations between China and the African
continent.
Benin's newspaper "Le Matinal" on Monday published an
article saying that the summit had gratified all participants, and would add
fresh vigor to the Sino-African friendship and trade relations.
A commentary headlined "New Frontiers of Sino-African
Cooperation", which was carried on the first page of Mali's official daily
"L'Essor", acknowledged that the rapid growth of China's economy strongly
demonstrated that a poor country could get on a fast growth track if it had a
wise and capable leadership, a patriotic and hardworking people, good governance
and trained and skilled human resources.
The article said that China's development foretold a
better tomorrow for Africa.
The Agence Presse Associee of Congo (DRC) commented
on Monday that the summit not only demonstrated the significant rise of China's
international status, but also provided the African countries with an
opportunity to promote cooperative relations with the giant Asian country. The
development of Africa would benefit from further development of the Sino-African
friendship and cooperation relations, it added.
The speech made by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the
summit suggested that "China is closer to Africa", and that strengthening its
diplomatic relations and strategic cooperation with African countries would be
among China's foreign policy priorities during the period of 2007-2010, said
"Diario de Angola', a daily newspaper of Angola, on Sunday.
The two-day FOCAC summit, which has brought together
leaders from 48 African countries, ended here on Sunday with the adoption of the
Beijing Declaration on a "new type of strategic partnership" between China and
Africa. It was the highest-level and the largest gathering of Chinese and
African leaders since China and African countries started forging cooperative
ties in the 1950s.