Chinese premier pledges $12bn in aid to Africa

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang unveiled extra aid for Africa of at least $12 billion (€8.6 billion) yesterday.

Mr Li also offered to share advance technology with the continent to help with development of high-speed rail, state news agency Xinhua reported.

He also pledged the additional funding in a speech at the Organisation of African Union HQ in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

China will increase credit lines to Africa by $10 billion and will boost the China-Africa Development Fund by $2 billion, bringing it to $5 billion, said Xinhua. It provided no details of the time frame.

Mr Li “depicted a dream that all African capitals are connected with high-speed rail, so as to boost pan-African communication and development”, noted the report.

Bilateral relations
China will also offer $100 million in aid for wildlife protection, added Mr Li.

It is his first visit to Africa since he became premier last year and follows on from a trip to the continent by President Xi Jinping in March 2013, when he renewed an offer of $20 billion in loans to Africa between 2013 and 2015.

Mr Li said that the new $10 billion credit line would be on top of the existing $20 billion already offered.

Chinese officials said last week that the trip would not simply be for energy deals and Beijing will be seeking to help boost African living standards.

Trips by Chinese leaders to Africa are often criticised as China only being interested in the continent’s mineral and energy wealth. Africans broadly see China as a counterbalance to western influence but, as ties mature, there are growing calls from policymakers and economists for more balanced trade relations. – (Reuters)