The word "China" has echoed in the meeting halls of the ongoing three-day World Economic Forum on Africa, reflecting the close attention to the Asian country which is widely regarded as Africa's crucial partner in the strive against global economic crisis and future development.

The issues related to China have become hot topics in the platform which attracted over 800 participants from 50 countries and five African leaders in a bid to seek practical solutions to foster better business practices and greater investment across the continent, under the theme of "Implications of the Global Economic Crisis for Africa".

The meeting room 2 in Cape Town's Convention Center was fully packed on Thursday afternoon. The plenary of "Exploring China's New Silk Road" gained more popularity than other sessions, which was testified by the fact that two Chinese speakers have been bombed by questions from delegates and journalists from various countries in the forum.

Liu Guijin is China's special representative for African affairs while Jiang Jieqing is the chairman of the board of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), also the sole co-chair of the forum from China.

Liu said the links between Africa and China go beyond mere trade. It includes China's commitment to Direction Official Development Assistance flows to Africa in minerals, agriculture development and industrial parks. In the process, China has become a major financier of infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa.

China is opposed to protectionism, said Liu. He criticized Western countries that blocking Chinese acquisition of Western firms on the grounds of national security.

China approaches these issues with a political willingness based on the concept of deals between equal partners, he said.

Meanwhile, Jiang pointed out at the session that trade flows between China and Africa rose 10 fold between 2001 and 2008. The ICBC has revealed an imminent signing of 800 million U.S. dollars funding of a power station in Botswana. The bank has purchased 20 percent of interest in the Standard Bank.

Jacko Maree, chief executive of South Africa's Standard Bank Group, said at the meeting that there is a clear difference between opportunities for Africa in trade with the developed economies and emerging economies. The Chinese investment in this is long-term and strategic.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan said at the opening plenary of forum that China will lead Africa out of the economic deadlock caused by the world economic downturn, following the statement by newly-elected South African president Jacob Zuma that the strengthened Sino-African cooperation will yield win-win outcome.

African Development Bank (AfDB)'s Donald Kaberuka has told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that the Sino-African cooperation has not only brought benefits to the peoples of the two sides, but also contributed to world peace and development.

The bilateral trade and China's increasing investment have infused energy into African economic development, enabling the continent to being involved into the global economy more rapidly, said Kaberuka.

More funds from China have been channeled towards garment manufacturing, telecom, electric appliance, retail, fishing and services etc, helping prevent African economies from over reliance on natural resources.

The economies of Africa and China are complementary, a basis for the win-win, said Kaberuka, explaining that 53 African countries with about 900 million people boast of abundant natural and human resources while China enjoying robust economic strength after 30 years of the implementation of the opening-up policy with more African choosing Chinese goods.

"Africa needs China and China also needs Africa. The contribution of China to African's economic growth has amounted to20 percent, bringing benefits to the African continent," said Kaberuka.

The World Economic Forum on Africa is scheduled to end on Friday. The closing plenary session of the platform will highlight the outcomes of the meeting and map out the future engagement of main stakeholders.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2009)