Full Text: China's second Africa policy paper (6)

4. Strengthening development cooperation between China and Africa

(1) Continuing to increase development assistance to Africa

As the largest developing country, China has provided assistance to African countries for a long time and will continue to do so within its capability. China has also received support and assistance from African countries in a timely manner whenever it is stricken by a big natural disaster. It stands ready to continue to provide and gradually increase emergency aid and necessary assistance to African countries in a spirit of sharing weal and woe and standing together through thick and thin with the latter. While providing the assistance in light of its own financial capacity and economic situation and the pressing needs of African countries, China sticks to the principles of no political strings attached, non-interference in others' internal affairs and no demands imposed on others. China will come up with innovative assistance models and optimize assistance conditions. China's assistance will be primarily used in the areas of human resources development, infrastructure, medical care and health, agriculture, food security, climate change response, desertification prevention and control, and wildlife and environmental protection, and for humanitarian purposes, with the aim to help African countries alleviate poverty, improve people's livelihoods and build up capacity for independent development.

China will honor its promise to exempt the intergovermental interest-free loans borrowed by the relevant least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing countries in Africa that are not returned when they mature at the end of 2015.

(2) Supporting Africa in strengthening its public health system and capacity building

Drawing on the experience in joint fight against Ebola and malaria, China will deepen and expand health cooperation with Africa. It will strengthen communication with Africa on medical and health policies, and support Africa's efforts to strengthen its public health and disease control and prevention system and capacity building. China will actively participate in the preparation for the establishment of an African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and assist African countries to improve the level of laboratory technology and deliver training to medical personnel, with a focus on assisting in prevention and control of non-contagious chronic diseases, malaria and other insect-borne infectious diseases, cholera, Ebola, AIDS, tuberculosis, and other preventable infectious diseases and newly emerging diseases. By making full use of its own strengths, China will support, on a priority basis, the efforts of African countries to enhance their core capacity in border health quarantine, build infectious diseases monitoring stations, provide medical services to women and children, and improve the departments and services in the existing medical facilities. China will continue to support African countries in health infrastructure development. It will continue to send medical teams to African countries, launch cooperation between counterpart Chinese and African hospitals, and enhance exchanges and cooperation between modern and traditional medicine with a focus on improving local medical services. It will also continue to promote the "Brightness Action" campaign to provide free cataract operation and other short-term free medical services. China stands for increasing paired exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and African medical institutions and drug administration agencies, and supports their cooperation with international and regional organizations such as the World Health Organization and the African Union. It will encourage Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises to invest in Africa in a bid to lower the cost of medicines in Africa and increase the affordability of medical and pharmaceutical products in Africa.

(3) Expanding cooperation in education and human resources development

China will expand cooperation in education with Africa, supporting educational development in the continent. It will provide more input in light of the social and economic development needs of African countries so as to achieve greater results, and help train more much-needed professionals for African countries, in particular, teachers and medical workers. While enhancing exchanges and cooperation between education administration agencies and institutions on both sides, China will continue to implement the "African Talents Program", gradually increase the number of government scholarships for applicants in African countries, and encourage local governments, institutions of higher learning, enterprises and social organizations to set up scholarships. It welcomes more African young people to study in China, encouraging and supporting them to play a bigger role in the pragmatic cooperation between China and Africa. China will encourage colleges and universities on both sides to establish partnerships, support exchanges between Chinese and African teachers and students, and magnify the effect of the 20+20 Cooperation Plan for Chinese and African Institutions of Higher Education. Following the principle of integrating learning and knowledge application, China will scale up cooperation in teacher training and vocational education with African countries with the aim to expand the channels for human resources development.

(4) Sharing and popularizing the experience in poverty alleviation

Poverty is the common challenge confronting China and Africa. China will fulfill its promise to the international community to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It will actively implement the Program for Strengthening China-Africa Cooperation on Poverty Reduction issued by China and the AU, strengthen China-Africa poverty alleviation cooperation, give play to the role of international poverty alleviation platforms such as the International Poverty Reduction Center in China jointly established by China and the United Nations, and encourage and support governments, academic institutions, enterprises and non-governmental organizations on both sides to carry out diverse forms of experience exchanges and pragmatic cooperation on poverty alleviation. These will facilitate the sharing of China's successful experience in achieving large-scale poverty reduction by alleviating rural poverty through development. China will strengthen cooperation on demonstration projects to support African countries in enhancing their capability of independent poverty alleviation and development.

(5) Stepping up science and technology cooperation and knowledge sharing

China will continue to push forward implementation of the China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership Plan, and encourage strengthened science and technology exchanges and cooperation between China and African countries in the fields of agriculture, water resources, energy, aviation and aerospace, telecommunication, environmental protection, desertification prevention and control, medical care and marine sector. It will support African countries in building up their capacity in science and technology, and work with them to set up joint laboratories, joint research centers, and science and technology parks in key areas. It will continue to sponsor outstanding young African scientists to conduct short-term research in China, step up training on applied technology and relevant policies, and jointly establish advanced-technology application and demonstration bases. China will promote the dissemination of China' s science and technology research results and the popularization and application of advanced and applied technology in Africa.

(6) Enhancing cooperation on climate change and environmental protection

China will boost and consolidate cooperation with Africa under the UNFCCC and other relevant mechanisms, and push for both sides to carry out consultations, exchanges and cooperation projects in relation to addressing climate change. China will innovate on cooperation areas, deepen pragmatic cooperation, and work in concert with Africa to enhance the capacity for tackling climate change. China stands for closer policy dialogue, and closer bilateral and multilateral coordination and cooperation with Africa in the area of environment. It calls for strengthened cooperation in education and personnel training on ecological protection, environment management, pollution prevention and control, bio-diversity and water resources conservation, and the prevention and control of desertification, as well as in demonstration projects in these areas. It will push forward environment-friendly industrial capacity cooperation and transfer of applied technology. While enhancing exchanges on environmental protection laws and regulations, China will engage in dialogue and cooperation on the conservation of endangered species of wild fauna and flora, step up intelligence sharing and capacity building in law enforcement, and crack down on transnational organized crimes related to endangered wildlife trafficking. While implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and dealing with other related international affairs, China will strengthen communication and coordinate positions with African countries, in a bid to work together to promote the protection and sustainable exploitation of global wild fauna and flora. (mo