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Interview: AU official says China-Africa cooperation a win-win deal

Xinhua, January 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

An African Union (AU) official has said China-Africa cooperation is a win-win deal in a move to boost regional sustainable development.

Elham Mahmoud Ibrahim, commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the AU Commission, made the comments in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the ongoing 24th AU summit.

"China's contribution to infrastructure construction across the African continent is obvious and I really appreciate such contributions," said Ibrahim, adding that China has always been a good partner for African countries.

Statistics from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed China had completed 1,046 projects in Africa, including 2,233 kilometers of railways and 3,530 kilometers of roads.

The AU official said China's rich experience in road and railway construction are beneficial for some African countries which are under transformational upgrade.

The official also refuted accusations that infrastructure projects financed by China across the continent is a form of neocolonialism, saying such remarks are groundless.

"For colonialism, I think one is benefiting and the other is losing, but China-Africa cooperation can benefit both," the official said, adding that such cooperation is a win-win deal as Africa is developing its continent while China is just doing business.

Besides cooperation in infrastructure sector, China-Africa cooperation also sees considerable increase in trading sector over the past decades.

Two-way trade volume between China and Africa exceeded 200 billion U.S. dollars for the first time in 2013, and China has been Africa's largest trade partner for the past five years in a row.

Ibrahim also welcomes China's participation in Africa's Agenda 2063. "We also appreciate the initiative that China wants to work with us in our infrastructure objectives and targets of the agenda 2063," the AU official added.

Initiated in 2013 by African political leaders during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, Agenda 2063 is a pan-African program aimed to developing Africa's growth trajectory for the next 50 years. Endi