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BEIJING (Reuters) – As President Xi Jinping gathered leaders from nearly every African country for a summit in Beijing in recent days, former Chinese officials and state media were organizing an unusually strong defense. of China's role on the continent.
Chinese President Xi Jingping speaks at the joint press conference of the Beijing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on September 4, 2018. Lintao Zhang / Pool via REUTERS
China has long been accused, mainly by Western countries, of being solely interested in African commodities, and its unreserved approach to loans and aid has only spurred corruption and created unsustainable debt. .
During a few press conferences held at the summit, African journalists asked about corruption, environmental issues and concerns about the lack of Africans employed in some projects in China.
Cheng Tao, former head of the Africa Division of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and former Chinese ambassador to Mali and Morocco, said it was unfair to blame China for supporting governments accused of corruption.
"An African friend told me that our government was extremely corrupt. How is it that you are always involved with them? Our government has asked the Chinese government to build a bridge and a hospital, but the Chinese government should not help them, "he said without naming the country.
"I told him – you voted for this government. This is the only government we can deal with. But the bridge and the hospital are not built for the president or the officials, but for the common people. So, I think that's another perspective that can be considered by looking at this issue. "
Last year, Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index ranked among the top 10 ranked countries, four of which sent their presidents to the summit – Equatorial Guinea, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.
Since Xi took office six years ago, he has waged a deeply rooted war on corruption in his own country and the government has been keen to show that he does not encourage similar problems in the country. Where China is involved.
Liu Guijin, China's former special envoy to Africa, said China did not want its money wasted by corruption.
"China's engagement in Africa is focused on its people and we do not give our money to corrupt governments or officials," said Liu, who was previously heavily involved in efforts to end the civil war Sudanese and still advises the Chinese government.
Indeed, a statement adopted after the summit, released Wednesday, said China and Africa would continue to adopt a "zero tolerance" approach to corruption.
DETTE WOES
Another area of growing concern has been the amount of debt that African countries now owe to China. Xi offered another $ 60 billion to Africa on Monday.
Expressing in Ethiopia in March, then the United States. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said African countries should be careful not to give up their sovereignty when they accept loans from China and carefully consider the terms of those agreements.
A senior Chinese official denied, before the opening of the summit, that his country was engaged in the diplomacy of the "debt trap" and that China's special envoy to the mainland said that China was helping the country. Africa to develop its debt.
The foreign edition of the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper on Saturday wrote in a commentary that some people had never been tired of trying to attack Sino-African cooperation under cover of debt or neocolonialism.
He cited what he described as an African expression that there was "nothing scary about a loan".
"The knot is what you do with it. Will you buy oxen and sheep to increase production or buy alcohol for a moment of pleasure?
African countries say that China generally offers better terms and is more willing to provide money than the United States or Europe.
Lebanon Soleman, general coordinator of the Coordination and Planning Office for an Emerging Gabon, told Reuters on the sidelines that the idea that China is burdening African countries with debts they can not repay is "unfair" .
"I think what the Chinese system has offered to Africa is something … probably the most flexible, especially with the system between grace periods and very low interest rates" , did he declare.
"I think that the main element that people misunderstand is the competitiveness of infrastructure prices that Chinese companies grant to African countries."
China has acknowledged that there are problems to be solved. Xi said on Monday at a business summit that Chinese funds are not intended for "vanity projects" and that Chinese companies must respect the local people and the environment in Africa.
By the end of this year, China is said to have provided technical training to more than 200,000 Africans, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said Sunday at a Sino-African Forum, according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce. Trade.
Jiang Zengwei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that as Africans become more technologically proficient, Chinese workers would have less need to steal.
"That's what we need to do or we can not foster a long-term cooperative relationship," he told reporters.
Report by Ben Blanchard; Additional report by Tom Daly and Christian Shepherd; Editing by Lincoln Feast
