Le Jacquelope
Loves Spam
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2003
- Posts
- 76,445
Starting with, of all places, Africa...
Oh, and Taiwan is more fucked now.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061105...PJ6eir9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
China, Africa sign $1.9B in trade deals
By CHARLES HUTZLER, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 41 minutes ago
China and Africa ended an unprecedented summit Sunday, signing deals worth $1.9 billion and pledging to boost trade and development between the world's fastest-growing economy and its poorest continent.
Chinese President Hu Jintao already had pledged billions of dollars in aid and loans to Africa during the two-day meeting, part of Beijing's efforts to strengthen ties to Africa amid China's search for new oil sources and export markets.
In a declaration read at the end of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China and 48 African nations pledged a partnership based on "political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchanges."
"We hold that the world today is undergoing complex and profound changes, and that the pursuit of peace, development and cooperation has become the trend of the times," Hu said after the biggest diplomatic meeting ever in China.
The event included heads of state from 35 of the 53 African nations, and top officials from 13 others.
"In a new era, China and Africa have common development goals and converging interests which offer a broad prospect for cooperation," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in reading out part of the declaration.
"We hold that the establishment of a new type of strategic partnership is both the shared desire and independent choice of China and Africa, serves our common interests and will help enhance solidarity and mutual support and assistance," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.
The declaration also called on developed nations to increase their help to Africa.
"We urge the developed countries to increase official development assistance and honor their commitments to opening markets and debt relief," the Ethiopian leader said.
The increased assistance from the developed world would include greater financial and technical help to boost Africa's capacity to fight poverty and disasters, and realize its U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
The declaration also called for a bigger role for Africa in the United Nations.
"Priority should be given to increasing the representation and full participation of African countries in the U.N. Security Council and other U.N. agencies," it said.
China and Africa had shown their economic potential earlier Sunday by signing more than a dozen trade deals worth $1.9 billion, while a Chinese company announced a $8.3 billion contract to build a railway in Nigeria.
Chinese companies signed 14 agreements with African governments and companies at the conclusion of a conference of Chinese and African entrepreneurs in Beijing, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The deals cover infrastructure, resources, construction, telecommunications and finance, Xinhua said.
Separately, China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. said it signed a deal on Oct. 30 with Nigeria's transport ministry to build a railway in the West African country, the continent's largest oil producer.
The 817-mile railway will link the southern city of Lagos with Kano in the north. It would be China's largest overseas engineering project by value, the company said on its Web site on Saturday.
Hu on Saturday pledged to double China's aid to Africa from its 2006 level by 2009. He promised $3 billion in loans, $2 billion in export credits and a $5 billion fund to encourage Chinese investment in Africa.
It was not clear if the government's promised $5 billion investment fund played a role in the deals announced Sunday.
African leaders at the meeting said they welcomed Chinese investment and business ties, but Beijing also faced criticism that it is treating Africa like a colonial territory and supports African regimes with poor human rights records.
"Chinese assistance to Africa is sincere, unselfish and has no strings attached," Premier Wen Jiabao said at a gathering of Chinese and African entrepreneurs held as part of the conference.
African nations also said in the declaration that they were committed to a "one-China" policy and opposed Taiwan independence. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing considers the self-governing island to be Chinese territory.
China's trade with Africa soared to $39.7 billion last year, four times its 2000 level, according to Wen. He called for efforts to boost that to $100 billion by 2020, and promised to open China's markets wider to African exports.
China's state oil companies are expanding in Africa, signing deals in Nigeria, Angola, Sudan and elsewhere. Manufacturers are trying to expand exports to African markets.
Human rights activists accuse China of supporting governments such as those in Sudan and Zimbabwe that are accused of chronic abuses. African business groups complain about poor treatment by Chinese companies and competition from a flood of low-cost imports.
Oh, and Taiwan is more fucked now.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061105...PJ6eir9xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
China, Africa sign $1.9B in trade deals
By CHARLES HUTZLER, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 41 minutes ago
China and Africa ended an unprecedented summit Sunday, signing deals worth $1.9 billion and pledging to boost trade and development between the world's fastest-growing economy and its poorest continent.
Chinese President Hu Jintao already had pledged billions of dollars in aid and loans to Africa during the two-day meeting, part of Beijing's efforts to strengthen ties to Africa amid China's search for new oil sources and export markets.
In a declaration read at the end of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China and 48 African nations pledged a partnership based on "political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchanges."
"We hold that the world today is undergoing complex and profound changes, and that the pursuit of peace, development and cooperation has become the trend of the times," Hu said after the biggest diplomatic meeting ever in China.
The event included heads of state from 35 of the 53 African nations, and top officials from 13 others.
"In a new era, China and Africa have common development goals and converging interests which offer a broad prospect for cooperation," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in reading out part of the declaration.
"We hold that the establishment of a new type of strategic partnership is both the shared desire and independent choice of China and Africa, serves our common interests and will help enhance solidarity and mutual support and assistance," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.
The declaration also called on developed nations to increase their help to Africa.
"We urge the developed countries to increase official development assistance and honor their commitments to opening markets and debt relief," the Ethiopian leader said.
The increased assistance from the developed world would include greater financial and technical help to boost Africa's capacity to fight poverty and disasters, and realize its U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
The declaration also called for a bigger role for Africa in the United Nations.
"Priority should be given to increasing the representation and full participation of African countries in the U.N. Security Council and other U.N. agencies," it said.
China and Africa had shown their economic potential earlier Sunday by signing more than a dozen trade deals worth $1.9 billion, while a Chinese company announced a $8.3 billion contract to build a railway in Nigeria.
Chinese companies signed 14 agreements with African governments and companies at the conclusion of a conference of Chinese and African entrepreneurs in Beijing, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The deals cover infrastructure, resources, construction, telecommunications and finance, Xinhua said.
Separately, China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. said it signed a deal on Oct. 30 with Nigeria's transport ministry to build a railway in the West African country, the continent's largest oil producer.
The 817-mile railway will link the southern city of Lagos with Kano in the north. It would be China's largest overseas engineering project by value, the company said on its Web site on Saturday.
Hu on Saturday pledged to double China's aid to Africa from its 2006 level by 2009. He promised $3 billion in loans, $2 billion in export credits and a $5 billion fund to encourage Chinese investment in Africa.
It was not clear if the government's promised $5 billion investment fund played a role in the deals announced Sunday.
African leaders at the meeting said they welcomed Chinese investment and business ties, but Beijing also faced criticism that it is treating Africa like a colonial territory and supports African regimes with poor human rights records.
"Chinese assistance to Africa is sincere, unselfish and has no strings attached," Premier Wen Jiabao said at a gathering of Chinese and African entrepreneurs held as part of the conference.
African nations also said in the declaration that they were committed to a "one-China" policy and opposed Taiwan independence. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing considers the self-governing island to be Chinese territory.
China's trade with Africa soared to $39.7 billion last year, four times its 2000 level, according to Wen. He called for efforts to boost that to $100 billion by 2020, and promised to open China's markets wider to African exports.
China's state oil companies are expanding in Africa, signing deals in Nigeria, Angola, Sudan and elsewhere. Manufacturers are trying to expand exports to African markets.
Human rights activists accuse China of supporting governments such as those in Sudan and Zimbabwe that are accused of chronic abuses. African business groups complain about poor treatment by Chinese companies and competition from a flood of low-cost imports.
