China rejected foreign concerns over its growing energy links with Africa yesterday, saying it benefits African nations by bringing badly needed trade and infrastructure development.
“I have noticed that in the international community there are some who do not want to see the development of Sino-African relations and always make an issue of China-Africa energy cooperation,” Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (楊潔箎) said yesterday.
“The fact is that China’s oil imports from Africa account for only 13 percent of Africa’s total exports, while Europe and the US account for more than 30 percent,” he told reporters.
Speaking at a press briefing on the sidelines of China’s annual parliament session, Yang said that Chinese investment in the African petroleum industry was just one-16th of the world total, behind US and European investment.
“We support other countries cooperating with Africa on the basis of equality and mutual benefit in the energy sector. There is no reason for them to oppose our equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with Africa,” he said.
China has steadily built up trade and economic ties with Africa in recent years, prompting critics in the West to accuse it of taking a “neo-colonialist” attitude toward the continent.
Beijing also has been criticized for befriending pariah regimes such as those in Sudan and Zimbabwe in a cynical bid to lock up supplies of resources needed to fuel expansion of its economy, the world’s third-largest.
In November, at a meeting of China-Africa leaders in Egypt, Beijing pledged US$10 billion in concessional loans to African countries.
Yang, who traveled to Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Algeria and Morocco in January is what has become an annual New Year trip, said the freedom of African countries to choose their friends should not be interfered with.
“In our cooperation with the people of African countries, we jointly build railways, roads, bridges and improve their infrastructure for the benefit of the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yang said all sides should keep up efforts to restart talks with North Korea on nuclear disarmament negotiations.
The stalled six-party talks bring together the two Koreas, host China, the US, Japan and Russia, seeking to implement a 2005 agreement offering Pyongyang aid in return for nuclear disarmament steps.
Over a year ago, North Korea pulled out of the talks and then in May staged a second nuclear test, drawing international condemnation and fresh UN sanctions.
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