Addis Ababa, 1 December 2015(WIC) – Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia and Head of Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the African Union, Kuang Weilin says China and Africa are perfect partners and complement to each other.
In an exclusive interview with Walta Information Center, the Ambassador said that Africa has a huge population, market and labor power, and similarly China owns a huge market and investment expertise and technology which are driving forces for future development of bilateral ties and cooperation through agriculture and industrialization.
Ambassador Weilin also explained about the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that is going to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa as it is expected to be a more historic and milestone summit than ever in strengthening further commitments.
He further said that the summit will send a strong signal to the international community about the importance, respect and support China gives to Africa. Moreover, he hopes that the summit will strengthen confidence of the international community and bring more input to Africa.
Industrialization, agriculture, infrastructures, public health, people to people relations, peace and security will be some of the major agendas of the summit.
It was noted that President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to South Africa and chair the forum from December 2 to 5, 2015.
The bilateral trade volume between Africa and China has increased from 1 billion USD 40 years ago to over 222 billion USD last year, and is expected to reach 400 billion USD by 2020.
The Ambassador has put some of the development cooperations between China and Africa in figures. 40,000 African students are studying in china, 1million Chinese are working in Africa, 3,000 Chinese companies are also engaged in African projects, 68 hospitals are built by china, 23 agricultural demonstration centers and 25 disease control centers are also built so far.
In addition to economic development the Chinese president has announced that China is to provide 100 million USD military assistance to the African Union. In line with this, the ambassador lauded Ethiopia’s role in peace keeping and maintaining stability in the continent in particular around the sub-region.
The Ambassador recalled that china has aided 18 million Yuan to Ethiopia to support its effort in fighting El-Nino effects. China is optimistic in helping the continent fight climate change as well, he added.
FOCAC, established in 2000, aims to promote bilateral ties and cooperation between China and Africa through dialogue, Walta learnt.