Xi offers $60 bn aid to Africa

Xi offers $60 bn aid to Africa

News:

1. China’s efforts for Africa’s all round progress through bolstering industry, countering hunger and enhancing security.

Important Facts:

2. President Xi Jinping announced the fund during the third summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, held in Beijing.

3. The outcome of the summit are:

• Eight focal areas across trade, investment, infrastructure financing and aid were highlighted.
• Setting up additional economic and trade cooperation zones to promote industrialization in Africa.
• Local currency settlements, instead of hard currency usage such as the U.S. dollar, would be encouraged to settle transactions.
• African countries will be able to tap new multilateral lenders such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the New Development Bank (NDB) of the emerging economies, as well as the Silk Road Fund marshaled by China.
• Bolstering African security was openly flagged with the energy, transport, telecommunication and cross-water resource tapping as are on China’s radar for next phase of Africa’s infrastructural forays.
• Peace and security fund in partnership with Africa will be set up.
• 50 China-Africa assistance programmes will be launched under the flagship Belt and Road initiative (BRI).
• China-Africa ‘green envoys programme’ to muscle Africa’s capacity for environmental management, pollution prevention and control, as well as green development program.
• A China-Africa environmental cooperation center, for research on environmental issues, is announced.
• Out of $60 billion that were on offer, For aid, interest-free loans and concessional loans, Credit line Special fund for China Africa Development, Special fund for African importsChina’s also promised support to Africa for achieving ‘general food security by 2030’.
• Chinese support will be extended to the countries in the Sahel region and others bordering the piracy-ridden Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Guinea.

4. China has already established a naval base in Djibouti on the edge of the strategic Gulf of Aden, which links the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

5. China’s ties with Africa were ‘upgraded’ three years ago during the Johannesburg’s Summit of the Forum in which China had announced 10 major plans for ‘in depth’ development of Africa.