South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday September 5 described Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s pledge of $50 billion in funding for Africa over the next three years as a “great boon” for the continent.
“I very much welcome the amount of money Xi has announced today. I think it will be a great boon for the African continent”, he declared at a press conference in Beijing during a state visit that included participation in a China-Africa forum. On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged more than $50 billion in funding over three years to African countries, some 50 of whose leaders are in Beijing for the summit.
This sum, equivalent to around 45 billion euros, aims to strengthen collaboration in infrastructure and trade between the Asian giant, the world’s second-largest economy, and Africa. The largest diplomatic gathering in Beijing since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit will bring together more than 50 African leaders from Wednesday to Friday, according to Chinese state media.
China-Africa relations are experiencing their “best period in history”, assured Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony in the People’s Palace, a colossal building on the edge of the famous Tiananmen Square. “As the most industrialized country on the African continent, South Africa stands to benefit enormously from this relationship”, President Ramaphosa told reporters on Thursday evening.