Africa should be stage for cooperation, not international competition: Chinese official

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang says Africa should not be a competition arena between world powers, as he opened a new headquarters for a pan-African health body.

Qin made the remark on Wednesday as he visited the Chinese-built headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

He emphasized China’s partnership with Africa in security areas and economic development.

“No country, no people have the right to force the African countries and people to take sides,” the Chinese foreign minister said at a joint news conference with African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat.

“Africa should be a big stage for international cooperation, not an arena for major countries’ competition,” he said, adding, “China’s contribution is concrete in bettering the lives of African people.”

Qin, who had been ambassador to the United States until December last year, is on his first overseas visit as foreign minister and a weeklong trip to Africa that will also take him to Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt.

His visit marks the 33rd consecutive year that Africa has been the destination of a Chinese foreign minister's first overseas tour of the calendar year.

Faki Mahamat said in the news conference that Africa’s lack of permanent representation on the Security Council was a “burning issue” considering that most issues on the Council’s agenda were related to African countries.

“It is unacceptable that others decide in the place of others. It is not fair. We need a new order at the international level which will respect the interests of others,” he said.

The AUC chairperson said, “Africa refuses to be considered to be an arena of exchange of influence… We are open to cooperation and partnership with everybody, but our principles, our priorities and our interests have to be respected. The partnership we have with China is based on these principles.”

During the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to the @_AfricanUnion HQ, we also visited the @AfricaCDC building site which is generously supported by the Government of the People's Republic of China. pic.twitter.com/ZvtGI0ODsD

— Moussa Faki Mahamat (@AUC_MoussaFaki) January 11, 2023

Qin also met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other government officials on Tuesday, announcing the cancellation of part of Ethiopia’s debt to China during the visit, although no party provided details.

Ethiopia has borrowed $13.7 billion from China since 2000 and has been seeking to restructure its debt to foreign lenders since 2021.

Qin also called for better relations between the US and China, the world’s two biggest economies, saying the nations should cooperate and co-exist peacefully rather than compete.

China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for over a decade. It competes for influence there with the United States — which hosted leaders from 49 African countries last month — as well as with former colonial powers Britain and France.

According to the Chinese General Administration of Customs, in the first three months of 2022, trade between China and Africa reached nearly $65 billion, registering a 23% increase over the same period in 2021.

Western nations have accused China of using the so-called “death trap” of offering massive loans for infrastructure projects to put African countries in debt to Beijing, both politically and economically. Beijing rejects those allegations.

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