Chinese President Xi Jinping has just announced a USD$60 billion worth of aid and loans package for Africa on Monday, as Beijing levels up its efforts to further establish its presence in the continent while linking its economic prospects to its own.
During the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) recently held in Beijing, the Chinese head of state said that the overall figure would consist of around USD$15 billion in grants and concessional loans, USD$10 billion intended for "development financing," and USD$5 billion total of import purchases from Africa. The biggest portion of the aid, USD$20 billion will come as credit lines opened for the African business sector.
FOCAC is a summit happening every three years where senior Chinese leaders and their counterparts from Africa meet, according to the report from CNN.
Amidst the criticisms coming from international ruling bodies, saying that Beijing knows exactly what these "poor countries" won't be able to pay these debts of the magnanimous portion, the Xi Jinping administration maintains that these monetary aids don't come with any condition whatsoever.
In his speech, which was quoted at The Washington Post, Xi said China's decision to allocate huge capital inflows across Africa doesn't come with any strings attached. Xi further clarified that the Chinese government will not interfere in any of Africa's "internal politics."
Even more so, the Chinese leader reiterated that the administration won't make any demands that are deemed "difficult to fulfill" to the African beneficiaries.
China, according to Xi, is more interested in helping African countries speed up their development, noting that the money should be focused on building infrastructure and not on "vanity projects."
Xi's FOCAC speech didn't specify the details of the infrastructure projects that China aimed to help Africa with. However, Xi said that Beijing already has a few initiatives in mind including the provision of emergency food aid, sending Chinese agricultural experts to the continent, providing educational scholarships to deserving African scholars, as well as conducting vocational training for the masses, a report from France 24 said.
Another area that China looks into, according to the news outlet, is the opening of various trade and commercial opportunities for budding African entrepreneurs.
Belt and Road Initiative
Africa does play a huge part in the realization of Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative. As previously specified in this report, the BRI or commonly known as the Silk Road Economic Belt Initiative is an intercontinental development strategy by the Xi Jinping administration which seeks to promote trade and economic cooperation between countries in the Eurasian region, including Africa.
