BEIJING, May 4 -- Major media outlets in Ethiopia, Kenya and Angola have recently made substantial coverage of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's remarks made in a joint interview with African press ahead of his ongoing four-nation Africa trip.

Hailing the mutually beneficial China-Africa cooperation, as well as China's development experience that could inspire Africa, the reports said that Li's visit to Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola and Kenya would further boost China-Africa ties across the board.

The official Ethiopian News Agency, and Waltainfo, one of the most influential media outlets in Ethiopia, published on their websites the full text of Li's interview on Friday, while Capital FM Kenya did it Wednesday.

Also on Friday, the People newspaper of Kenya, in an article titled "I Come to Prove China, Africa are Mutual Partners," quoted the Chinese premier as saying that "Having long overcome the barrier of geographical distance as well as cultural and social differences, China-Africa relationship has become a pacesetter of South-South cooperation featuring sincerity, mutual trust and harmony."

Later, in an opinion piece published Sunday, the same newspaper said China's fast growth offers lessons to Africa on the limitations of Western development prescriptions.

African countries must avoid excessive consumption and implement independent policies that work for its local conditions, it said, adding "Africa must begin to self-assess and learn from the Chinese path of development to be able to initiate its own development plans and pursue African dreams."

"It is even more encouraging that China does not interfere in, nor prescribe a development path for, Africa, but rather, it encourages each African partner to establish its own unique development model that best suits its environment," it said.

Meanwhile, the Standard, Kenya's second-largest newspaper by circulation, quoted Li as saying that "In the cooperation with Africa, China has always upheld the principles of equality, mutual benefit, real results, efficiency, sincerity and credibility, and never attached any political strings to its assistance to Africa. This has been China's decades-long practice without any deviation."

"The so-called 'China's neo-colonialism in Africa' is a false accusation inconsistent with Chinese tradition and culture, and does not reflect the reality of friendly, equal-footed and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Africa," said the Chinese leader, assuring African friends in all seriousness that "China will never pursue a colonialist path like some countries did or allow colonialism, which belonged to the past, to reappear in Africa."

Meanwhile, Angola's O Pais weekly also published Li's interview in two full pages and displayed pictures of the Chinese premier and of Chinese workers who participated in Angola's post-war reconstruction.