At the China-Africa Cooperation Forum: Chinese President Pledges $50 Billion in Funding for African Projects
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to finance projects in Africa worth $50 billion over the next three years, and promised to deepen cooperation in infrastructure and trade with the continent.
Xi Jinping added in a speech during the opening of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Beijing that more than half of this amount will be in the form of loans, $11 billion in aid, in addition to $10 billion to encourage Chinese companies to invest.
In his speech to more than 50 African leaders, Xi explained that Chinese-African relations are now going through the best period in their history.
Xi stressed that his country is ready to deepen cooperation with the continent in the areas of infrastructure and trade, expressing China’s readiness in the next three years to provide at least one million job opportunities for Africa.
For his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed, during the opening of the China-Africa Forum, that the two parties can, through cooperation, lead a revolution in the field of renewable energy, adding that China’s amazing record in the field of development, especially in eradicating poverty, is a great source of experience and expertise.
China is the world’s second-largest economy and Africa’s largest trading partner, and is seeking to tap the continent’s natural resources, such as copper, gold and lithium.
