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Ma Peimin

China’s newly-appointed Foreign Minister Qin Gang has kicked off the new year and his term with a week-long trip to Africa, which covers Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin and Egypt.

On a practical level, the new foreign minister’s trip aims to deepen the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and boost friendly cooperation.

Why choose Africa?

All countries on the itinerary are close bilateral partners of China, which participate in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative, a transcontinental infrastructure and development project proposed by China in 2013.

Fikrejesus Amahazion is an educator and research analyst at the Eritrean Center for Strategic Studies in Asmara. He said to CGTN, the trip can be expected to help build upon these relationships and bolster existing frameworks of cooperation, which is critical given the region and the world are facing multiple crises.

Several other points stand out in regards to Qin’s trip, which underscores the great respect that China attaches to its relationship with African nations. In every year since 1991, when Qian Qichen, the then foreign minister of China, paid an official visit to several countries on the continent, Africa was the first overseas destination of a Chinese foreign minister in a new year.

Considering Africa has been the destination of Chinese foreign ministers’ annual first overseas visit for the 33rd consecutive year, the visit reflects the strong ties that have developed between China and the continent. China-Africa relations have a long history that can be traced back centuries, and the ties have grown much closer in recent years.

In terms of the economic dimension, China has emerged as Africa’s most important partner. It has been the continent’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years; total two-way trade in 2021 reached about $254.3 billion, while during the first half of 2022 it was approximately $137.38 billion – a year-on-year increase of approximately 17 percent.

Besides, China-African cooperation also extends to an array of fields, ranging from health and education to infrastructure, telecommunications, and technology. For example amid the COVID-19 pandemic, China supported Africa’s prevention and control measures.

FM rejects false claims on China’s African loans

Foreign Minister Qin Gang denied allegations by some foreign politicians and media that China’s loans to African countries are creating “debt traps” in Ethiopia.

Of the G20 members, China has offered the most debt suspension to African countries and has signed deals or reached agreement with 19 of them on suspending debt, he said.

He cited a World Bank report that showed multilateral finance institutions and private creditors account for nearly three-quarters of Africa’s total debt. “They could and should play a bigger role in the debt relief issue of Africa,” Qin said.

Observers said raising the “debt trap” hype again is not helpful to relieving the financial burden that the least-developed countries in Africa face, given the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the global economic downturn and geopolitical conflicts.

 Africa should be a stage for international cooperation, not an arena for major-force rivalry

Qin Gang noted that Africa is an emerging continent full of hope, vigor and vitality.

Without peace and development of Africa, the world would not be in stability and prosperity. Africa needs solidarity and cooperation, rather than bloc confrontation.

No country or individual has the power to force African countries to pick sides. Africa should be a stage for international cooperation, not an arena for major-force rivalry.

If there is competition, it should be about who does more practical things for the peace and development of Africa and who helps Africa have more representation and say in the international governance agenda.

Qin Gang said that China is glad to see any country truly help Africa realize peace and development with sincerity.

If African friends wish, China is also ready to carry out trilateral or multilateral cooperation with any other country in Africa to jointly make greater contributions to the development and rejuvenation of Africa.