SINO-AFRICA RELATIONS POSITIVELY REASSERTED (SOUTH AFRICA & ERITREA)

China doesn't use Africa as dumping ground

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-23

ASMARA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Eritrean President Isayas
Afewerkion Thursday slammed those allegations that China is
using Africa as a dumping ground.

"Is China using Africa as a dumping ground? That is not the
case," Isayas said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua,
on the eve of the 15th founding anniversary of the State of
Eritrea.

"There may be incidents, there may be mistakes here and
there, but this should not be the way we judge this
partnership," he said.

"At the moment what you can do, even the purchasing power
does not allow people to go for expensive cars like
Porsche, Ferrari. That is not the kind of thing people can
afford now, may be the one or two out of millions can
afford that," said Isayas.

"I would say those, who are saying this, have no moral
authority or high ground to lecture us on what China should
do, and what China should not do," he said. "This is a
matter for Africa and China."

"These people have been the worst example, not only a bad
example in partnership, they cannot come to lecture on what
China should do, and what China should not do," said the
Eritrean president.

"We cannot make judgments by those who had been doing the
wrong things all the way and now coming to lecture us on
how China-Africa relationship should be governed."

Isayas calls for a stronger partnership between Africa and
China.

"I think the healthy relationship that should develop
between China and Africa will have to be partnership to
solve the immediate problems now," he said.


Chinese official: Sino-S. African cooperation experiences fast development

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-22

PRETORIA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The strategic partnership
between China and South Africa has experienced fast
development in all aspects and has become one of China's
most important and dynamic bilateral relationships with
other African countries, said a senior Chinese official
here on Wednesday.

With the joint efforts of China and South Africa and other
African countries, the China-African relations have taken
on a new look and has brought tangible benefits to both
sides, said Ji Peiding, vice chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the Chinese National People's
Congress, at the seminar commemorating the 10th anniversary
of the diplomatic ties between China and South Africa.

Maintaining the overall friendship between China and Africa
is the goal and basis of strengthening the strategic
cooperation between China and South Africa, said Ji at the
seminar held in Pretoria on Wednesday.

China-African cooperation belongs to South-South
cooperation which has become more complementary,
diversified and flexible, Ji said, adding that the two
sides hold identical or similar positions on many major
international issues.

China sincerely hopes to see a peaceful, stable, developing
and united Africa with a bigger role in international
affairs, he said.

China-African cooperation is all-dimensional, involving all
countries which are willing to cooperate with China and
Africa. Such cooperation has been based on complementarity,
mutual benefit and win-win progress throughout its growth,
Ji said.

Mutual investment between China and Africa has injected new
vitality into the economic cooperation and development
between China and African countries, Ji said.

Eritrean president hails China's competition in world markets

2008-05-23

ASMARA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Eritrean President Isayas
Afewerki on Thursday hailed China's competition in world
markets, saying that China's competition improves the lives
of those customers everywhere in the world.

"It is hypocrisy. They talk about free market, free trade,
when they control everything," Isayas said, referring to
some Western politicians who are jealous of China's growing
influence in Africa.

"When someone reaches a level where he can compete with
that, then free market and free trade does not work for
them. Free market, free trade, free competition or
competition in the market only suit them when they control
everything, when there is no one in the market to compete
with them," said the Eritrean president.

"Now China is emerging, other markets in Asia are emerging,
they don't like that competition," he said.

"We have been lectured on what capitalism is, what markets
are, what free trade is, but when it comes to stiff
competition, then all these values are abandoned."