CHINA GIVES AFRICA $10 BILLION, FIGHTS ENERGY CHARGE
Bloomberg, November 9, 2009
China promised $10 billion in cheap loans to Africa, pledged to cut customs duties and distributed a newspaper with photos of Chinese leaders among beaming Africans, part of an effort to fight claims it is exploiting the continent’s resources.
At the close today of the two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, China pledged to “work within its means to increase aid to Africa, reduce or cancel debts on African countries, in addition to increasing investments in Africa and open more markets,” Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency reported.
Chinese officials have been battling accusations that they are only interested in the continent’s oil and minerals as their country presses forward with a decade-long drive to invest in African resources to feed its growing economy. Last year, European Union lawmakers assailed China for courting “oppressive” African governments, such as Sudan, to satisfy its soaring demand for oil and raw materials.
“China is very stung by criticism from so-called Western quarters in recent years,” said Martyn Davies, chief executive officer of Frontier Advisory, a Johannesburg-based research and strategy consulting company. China is trying “to have a softer approach” in an effort to rebut the notion that its interest in Africa is “extractionist in nature.”
Bloomberg, November 9, 2009
China promised $10 billion in cheap loans to Africa, pledged to cut customs duties and distributed a newspaper with photos of Chinese leaders among beaming Africans, part of an effort to fight claims it is exploiting the continent’s resources.
At the close today of the two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, China pledged to “work within its means to increase aid to Africa, reduce or cancel debts on African countries, in addition to increasing investments in Africa and open more markets,” Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency reported.
Chinese officials have been battling accusations that they are only interested in the continent’s oil and minerals as their country presses forward with a decade-long drive to invest in African resources to feed its growing economy. Last year, European Union lawmakers assailed China for courting “oppressive” African governments, such as Sudan, to satisfy its soaring demand for oil and raw materials.
“China is very stung by criticism from so-called Western quarters in recent years,” said Martyn Davies, chief executive officer of Frontier Advisory, a Johannesburg-based research and strategy consulting company. China is trying “to have a softer approach” in an effort to rebut the notion that its interest in Africa is “extractionist in nature.”
(...) [artículo aquí]
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