Africa's youth see China as making positive contribution: new research

JOHANNESBURG, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Africa's youth view China as the most influential foreign country on their continent, with a positive contribution to infrastructural development and skills training, according to the report commissioned by South Africa's Ichikowitz Foundation.

The African Youth Survey 2022, which was done in 19 African countries and published Monday, showed that 76 percent of the young people view China's influence as positive while 77 percent see China as the strongest foreign power on the continent.

More than half of young Africans (54 percent) said China has a great impact on their country. In three countries, there is a near-universal agreement that China is the most influential foreign country in Africa: Rwanda (97 percent), Malawi (95 percent), and Nigeria (90 percent).

"This is an endorsement of the Chinese foreign policy which has increased investment in the African continent. If you listen to the rhetoric by the U.S. and the EU who have been saying China is not good for Africa's growth and development but the youth are saying the opposite," Ichikowitz Foundation Chairperson Ivor Ichikowitz told Xinhua Tuesday.

The report showed that the youth see the Chinese influence as being positive with their investment and infrastructural developments. They picked up China for providing loans and economic support and for creating employment opportunities. The youth also said China is providing good export opportunities for Africa and access to affordable goods.

Ichikowitz said the African youth have faith in the future of the relations between China and Africa, stressing that he believed that Africa and China could become "superpowers" in the future.