China-Africa cooperation has brighter future, experts say

BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday released a white paper on China-Africa cooperation in the new era. According to experts from African countries, the white paper has comprehensively and systematically introduced the major achievements of China-Africa cooperation, and demonstrated the brotherly friendship between the two sides.

The white paper, titled "China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals," also came days before the launching of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The experts expressed their belief that the two sides will continue to write a brilliant chapter in promoting the high-quality development of bilateral cooperation and building the China-Africa community with a shared future.

Costantinos Bt. Costantinos, a professor of public policy at the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, said that as clearly noted in the white paper, countries like Ethiopia have greatly benefited from the Chinese partnership and support, mainly through infrastructure development and the expansion of the manufacturing sector industries as well as industrial zones.

"The ever-growing China-Ethiopia partnership in particular and China-Africa partnership in general, ushered in though the FOCAC, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the South-South cooperation modalities, have witnessed historic milestones over the past couple of decades," the expert said.

Calling China "a warm friend of Africa," Buyile Matiwane, deputy-president of the South African Students' Congress, said that Chinese investment is crucial in creating a platform to maximize the establishment of value chains and domestic markets across the African continent.

Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, a professor at the University of Yaounde II in Cameroon, believed that FOCAC would inject new impetus into the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership, especially in the post-pandemic era.

Cooperation with China will be essential for African countries to recover from the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ngolle said.

According to the white paper, China and Africa have stood together in success and adversity, setting an example for building a global community with a shared future. Yao Bloua Agbo, chairman of the China-Togo Friendship Association, said that whether in good times or bad times, China and Africa have always been at each other's side.

"We are very happy and very confident in the relations between China and Africa," he said. "I agree that our relations are at a high level. I am optimistic and I believe that ... we will go to an even higher level than that."

Lamine Mane, a Senegalese specialist in Africa-Asia relations, said that China respects the will and real needs of African countries, never interferes in their internal affairs, imposes no political conditions on its aid, and never seeks political gains in investment and financing.

"China and Africa are increasingly united for a future of peace, development, vitality and prosperity," the expert said.

Karim al-Omda, a professor with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, also expressed the belief that China-African relations will be further promoted "as China always keeps the principles of not interfering in other countries' domestic affairs," adding that the bilateral ties "will set a cooperation model for the world."