NANNING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's rapid development is not a "threat" as some Western countries have painted but a "positive challenge" for Africa, said African youth delegates on a visit to China.
"I would like to see China's rise as a challenge rather than a threat. A challenge means someone does something excellent that we want to learn from and try to catch up with them. Most people in my country would say if China can achieve it, why can't Nigeria," said Festus Ojudun, a senior political reporter with the Nigerian Tribune, Nigeria's most widely-read newspaper.
A few Western media sources have played up the so-called "China threat in Africa" and even "neo-colonization" as China's relations and cooperation with African countries have continued to grow in recent years.
They said China's assistance to Africa was aimed at natural resources including crude oil and winning African votes in the United Nations.
They also said that China's soft loans would ruin plans to ease Africa's debilitating debt and Chinese imports would undermine local production.
"I don't think it's neo-colonization. Assistance is not rendered for free, it's given because of a particular interest. If you have an interest, you have to lay the foundation. This is true with all countries' foreign policies and it's unfair that the West point their fingers at China," said Ojudun.
"In Ethiopia, almost every road, hospital and all the bigger schools are built by the Chinese. Ethiopia is following the Chinese mode in many ways so these years our economic growth has reached double digits," said Ermias Legesse, an executive member of Addis Ababa Committee of Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front(EPRDF).
Legesse also disagreed with the criticism that Chinese exports had undermined local production, saying made-in-China products have improved their living standards by making things much more affordable.
"China believes every coin has a value. Africa is somewhere the West has long neglected. Several years later the Chinese came and sold us products, there is nothing wrong with that," he said.
Legesse's viewpoint is shared by many others in the delegation of 100 people. Maurice Okande Alcula, a journalist with the National Development Radio of Kenya, said "I don't believe there is such thing as neo-colonization, because China has never been a colonist and the prevailing atmosphere is to seek mutual development."
China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zhang Yesui, said last week when he hosted the African youth delegation in Beijing, "Our assistance to Africa and the international community is genuine and unconditional unlike those of other countries. We do not attach conditions to our aid now and we will not do it in the future."
"China believes all countries around the world, big or small, rich or poor, are relevant in the international community," he said.
He added that though Western countries had criticized China's efforts at helping African countries, she would not relent in her bid to help the needy.
He stressed that the long-standing relationship between Africa and China would be sustained.
China has decided to cancel all the debts due in 2005 owed by least-developed African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, and will increase the categories of zero-tariff African exports.
As a developing country, China has helped Africa build more than 900 infrastructure and social welfare projects, sent nearly 18,000 medical workers and provided more than 20,000 scholarships to Africa.
"All these have shown China's assistance is genuine, and is aimed at boosting Africa's social and economic progress, quite to the contrary of neo-colonism," said Roger Ekomi Ndong, secretary of the youth organization of the Gabonese Democratic Party.
