Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was to arrive in Africa on a four-nation visit yesterday seeking deeper military and economic ties while his rival in a bitter trade war, the Trump administration, shows little interest in the world’s second most populous continent.
This is Xi’s first trip abroad since he was appointed to a second term in March with term limits removed, allowing him to rule for as long as he wants, which rang familiar to some of Africa’s long-entrenched leaders.
China is already Africa’s largest trading partner and it opened its first military base on the continent last year in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, which this month launched a China-backed free trade zone it calls the largest in Africa.
Photo: Reuters
After surpassing the US in arms sales to Africa in the past few years, China this month hosted dozens of African military officials for the first China-Africa defense forum.
Xi is stopping in Senegal and then Rwanda ahead of his participation in a summit of the so-called “BRICS” emerging economies in South Africa that starts on Wednesday.
The summit comes amid the US’ trade war with China and tough trade negotiations with other key economic partners.
Last month, the foreign ministers of BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa criticized what they called a “new wave of protectionism,” saying that US measures undermine global trade and economic growth.
Xi’s Africa visit also highlights China’s sweeping Belt and Road Initiative that envisages linking Beijing to Africa, Europe and other parts of Asia via a network of ports, railways, power plants and economic zones.
While such high-profile projects bring badly needed infrastructure and generate economic growth, US officials and others have warned that African nations are indebting themselves to China.
China’s government, banks and contractors from 2000 to 2015 loaned more than US$94 billion to African governments and state-owned companies, the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University said.
“Public debt in the median sub-Saharan African country rose from 34 percent of GDP in 2013 to an estimated 53 percent last year,” a report released in January by Chen Wenjie and Roger Nord of the IMF said.
From oil in nations such as Nigeria and Angola to rare minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa’s natural resources are a major draw for China’s economy, the world’s second-largest behind the US.
However, China’s voracious appetite for resources such as timber and ivory has taken its toll on Africa’s environment, often with the help of corrupt local officials.
On his first visit to a West African country, Xi is to meet with Senegalese President Macky Sall.
Senegal had economic growth of 7.2 percent last year, the IMF said, adding that the nation’s largest trading partner is the EU, notably France.
The stop highlights China’s interest both in Francophone Africa and in Atlantic Ocean ports, while Senegal positions itself as a gateway to the region.
Already, a Chinese-backed industrial park has appeared outside the capital, Dakar, while rail and road links are being improved as part of an ambitious plan to reach the other end of the continent in Djibouti.
Xi then moves on to Rwanda, becoming the first Chinese president to visit the landlocked East African country, whose economy grew by 6.1 percent last year. He is to meet with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and visit a memorial for Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, which killed more than 800,000 people.
The Chinese leader is then to make his third state visit to South Africa for the BRICS summit.
South Africa’s economy, one of Africa’s largest, grew just 1.3 percent last year amid a drop in investor confidence, because of a corruption scandal around former South African president Jacob Zuma, who resigned in February.
Finally, Xi is to stop in the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, whose economy grew by 3.9 percent last year.
China’s economic push is to continue in September with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which brings together dozens of heads of state.
At the start of their first-ever virtual World Health Assembly (WHA), WHO member states agreed to delay a controversial discussion on granting Taiwan observer status until later in the year. The agreement came after WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pledged to launch an independent probe to review the coronavirus pandemic response as soon as possible, and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) announced that China would provide US$2 billion over two years to fight the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. Despite the US and other members stepping up pressure in recent days, the WHA unanimously agreed to postpone a decision on observer
Another automatic 30-day visa extension for foreigners who entered Taiwan on or before March 21 this year has been granted, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) announced yesterday during the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) daily news briefing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had granted an initial automatic 30-day visa extension on March 21 for foreigners who entered Taiwan on or before that date with a visa waiver, visitor’s visa or landing visa — and another on April 17, as part of tightened border control measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Many foreigners who arrived in Taiwan on holidays or for
PROTEST SENT: Despite a wave of international support Taiwan did not receive an invite, which means that it and all WHO members would lose out, the two ministers said Taiwan deeply regrets and is very dissatisfied that it was not invited to attend the annual World Health Assembly (WHA), which began a virtual meeting yesterday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said. During the Central Epidemic Command Center’s daily news conference, Chen, who heads the center, said that as of 2pm, Taiwan had not received an invitation to the meeting, which was to begin at 6pm Taiwan time. “We put in our efforts [to get invited] up until the last moment, but it seems that we are unlikely to be invited,
US lawmakers and officials are crafting proposals to push US companies to move operations or key suppliers out of China that include tax breaks, new rules and carefully structured subsidies. Interviews with a dozen current and former government officials, industry executives and members of Congress show widespread discussions underway — including the idea of a “reshoring fund” originally stocked with US$25 billion — to encourage US companies to drastically revamp their relationship with China. US President Donald Trump has long pledged to bring manufacturing back from overseas, but the spread of COVID-19 and related concerns about US medical and food supply chains
RSS