African leaders in China for third summit on cooperation

Beijing is hosting African leaders for a high-level summit aimed at strengthening China-Africa relations, with the discussions expected to mainly focus on President Xi Jinping’s “new Silk Road” initiative.

According to Press TV, the third Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in the capital, Beijing, on Monday and Tuesday, with more than 50 African leaders in attendance.

The two-day “mega event” is co-chaired by President Xi and his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa.

According to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Xi will use the summit as an opportunity to outline a “specific vision on building a China-Africa community with a shared future, and announce proposals and measures... to strengthen China-Africa cooperation.”

South Africa’s Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who also attends the summit, said on Sunday that the participants are looking for ways to “advance common growth and development.”

High on the agenda is Beijing’s multi-trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, which is also known as the “new Silk Road.”

The trade infrastructure project, announced by President Xi in 2013, envisions the construction of railways, roads and ports across the globe to connect China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

The plan, however, has many critics, who believe the project could bury African nations under debt to China, calling it Beijing’s “debt trap.”

Beijing, however, explains that loans provided under the Belt and Road initiative are not a “trap,” arguing that when it comes to “the debt problem, there really is not that much Chinese debt in Africa.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the current chair of the African Union, has also rejected the “debt trap” allegations, saying they are attempts to discourage African-Chinese interactions.

“Another perspective... is that those criticizing China on debt give too little,” he told the official Xinhua news agency.

China has already provided many countries in Asia and Africa with billions of dollars in aid and loans for roads, railways, ports and other major infrastructure projects.

The Chinese president has pledged more than $60 billion in loans and aid to the continent

The Asian country has been Africa's biggest trading partner over the last decade. It has been investing $3 billion a year in Africa over the past few years.

According to its economic data, trade between China and African countries rose 14 percent last year to $170 billion— four times ­Africa’s trade with the United States.

ME