THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
African leaders are in the Chinese city of Beijing for a high-level summit hosted by the Chinese government. The Forum for Africa-China Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit is a meeting between the two partners and is largely premised on ways to increase diplomatic, economic and bilateral ties.
It officially kicks off on September 3 through to September 4. This year’s edition is themed “China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation.”
The summit is seen largely as key diplomatic event hosted by China this year and attended by the largest number of foreign leaders to date. African leaders already in Beijing have held different levels of talks with their Chinese counterparts signing deals and also meeting investors.
The interest in the forum is a result of China’s growing influence on the African continent and proves the FOCAC has been pragmatic and efficient, analysts said.
Beijing has been Africa’s biggest trading partner over the last decade, and its resources have helped fuel China’s transformation into the world’s second-largest economy.
The growth in trade between China and Africa has been very impressive. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the volume of trade in 2000 stood at $10 billion (€8.5 billion). In the 17 years since, the figure has risen twentyfold to $200 billion. In the meantime, Africa’s trade with Europe and the United States has stagnated for years. In addition, the African continent has seen a sharp rise in Chinese direct investment.
Participants at this week’s summit are looking for ways to “advance common growth and development”, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said.
But most African nations – exporting minerals and buying Chinese manufactured goods – run large deficits with China.
“The question of the trade imbalance is one that I think will be placed firmly on the table by the African delegates,” Sim Tshabalala, chief executive of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group, told reporters on Saturday.
Critics also say Africa is loading itself up on Chinese debt that countries may struggle to repay, with estimates ranging in the tens of billions of dollars.That could leave African nations with no choice but to hand over controlling stakes in strategic assets to China in the near future.
Kola Tella with agency reports
