President's trip enhanced ties with Africa (2)

Rwandan dancers perform traditional dances to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony of Nyabarongo II Hydropower Plant, in Rwanda, on May 21, 2022. The Rwandan government has launched the construction of a 43.5 MW power plant expected to boost the country's efforts to ensure universal access to electricity by 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Gerald Mbanda, a researcher in Rwanda on China and Africa, said that since Xi's visit and the BRI agreements signed by the two nations, there have been great achievements in bilateral collaboration.

A 54-kilometer road has been completed, and another road leading to the southern province of Huye is soon expected to be completed, he said. In addition, collaboration in fields such as e-commerce, education, healthcare and agriculture has flourished over the past four years.

James Kimonyo, Rwanda's ambassador to China, said Xi's 2018 visit to Rwanda had been a great success that had taken bilateral relations to a new high.

The BRI, which Xi proposed in 2013, is a great initiative that can be carried out to meet development priorities in different countries, he said.

The initiative helps countries become connected and conduct trade, and because of the infrastructure built, it promotes investment that brings together countries that would otherwise not be connected to a larger market, he said.

"When President Xi talks about win-win cooperation and building a shared future for humankind, he means it," Kimonyo said. "It is not political rhetoric. He means it, and he puts the plan into action.

"Some people say China is creating a debt trap for Africa. That is just ridiculous, because China comes to bridge the infrastructure gap. It supports power generation, roads, hospitals, infrastructure, schools, and so on. T

hese are very important projects for our country and for our people."

Many landmark projects have been financed and built by China on the African continent in recent decades, including the railway that connects Tanzania and Zambia, he said, adding that BRI collaboration between China and Africa is a continuation of the partnership that China has had with Africa, and Rwanda in particular.