Africa has "a need and a good opportunity" for full
collaboration with China to achieve sustainable development, a
special envoy from the continent said yesterday in Beijing.
"Today, African countries, with a new spirit, are striving hard
with the aim of realizing rejuvenation and development," Ethiopian
Ambassador Haile-Kiros Gessesse told the opening of the two-day
Fifth Senior Officials Meeting, part of the framework of the Forum
on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and prelude to the China-Africa summit
this weekend.
"Apart from the collective endeavors of African countries, there
is a need and a good opportunity for full cooperation and
meaningful engagement from our friends and partners such as China
to realize these objectives."
Speaking as a special envoy for Ethiopia, the co-chair country
of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Gessesse said
Sino-African ties, based on "the very nature of friendship,
equality, solidarity and common development," have passed the test
of time and won the hearts of many.
He singled out China's preferential market access for some
African products, which has resulted in a rise in trade volume and
continuous improvement in bilateral trade balance.
Trade between China and African countries increased from a mere
US$10 million in the 1950s to nearly US$39.7 billion last year,
when African exports to China soared to US$21 billion, according to
official statistics.
"Believe me, if expanded to other commodities, this opportunity
is tantamount to development assistance, as market access has also
been an urgent call from developing countries including those of
Africa, in the global market," he said.
He revealed that in the draft Beijing Action Plan (2007-09), to
be discussed during the summit, China commits to opening its market
wider and providing zero-tariff treatment to more African
products.
"This, by itself, has great potential to expand Sino-African
trade and economic relations for common benefit," he told senior
officials from China and 48 African countries.
Gessesse also said that although endowed with rich natural
resources and being a huge potential market, the efforts of African
countries for sustainable development cannot be realized without
skilled manpower.
"Therefore, we also largely believe that China's continued
support in this regard would be vital in the economic development
of African countries," the ambassador said.
The Senior Officials Meeting will review the preparation work
for the Beijing Summit and the Third FOCAC Ministerial Conference
scheduled from tomorrow to Sunday.
The summit, the largest and highest-level gathering of Chinese
and African leaders, will push friendship to a new high, Assistant
Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said yesterday.
Chinese and African officials reached a consensus on the drafts
of an action plan, and a Beijing Summit Declaration, the two main
documents to be tabled at the summit, during a special Senior
Officials Meeting in Beijing in September.
Founded in 2000, FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue
and cooperation to tackle new challenges and facilitate common
development.
(China Daily November 2, 2006)