CHINA-AFRICA: XI JINPING'S SPEECH TO FORUM ON CHINA-AFRICAN COOPERATION (FOCAC)

In his keynote address at the opening of the Forum on China-African Cooperation (FOCAC) on September 3, 2018 Chinese President Xi Jinping promised that China’s aid to Africa comes with no strings attached. In addition to assuring Africa that it has China on its side, Xi Jinping  proposed eight new China-Africa initiatives: (i) an industrial promotion initiative; (ii) an infrastructure connectivity initiative; (iii) a trade facilitation initiative; (iv) a green development initiative; (v) a capacity building initiative; (vi) a health care initiative; (vii) a people-to-people exchange initiative; and (viii) a peace and security initiative. He said "to make sure that these eight initiatives are implemented on the ground, China will extend US$60 billion of financing to Africa in the form of government assistance as well as investment and financing by financial institutions and companies." He added "this will include US$15 billion of grants, interest-free loans and concessional loans, US$20 billion of credit lines, the setting up of a US$10 billion special fund for development financing and a US$5 billion special fund for financing imports from Africa." For Africa's least developed countries, heavily indebted and poor countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing countries that have diplomatic relations with China, he promised that debt in the form of interest-free Chinese government loans due to mature by the end of 2018 will be exempted.” The Forum adopted two documents: The Beijing Declaration – Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future; and The FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021).





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