China Praised for African Links

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has praised the way China does business in Africa, criticizing the West for basing relations with the continent on aid. Huge Chinese investment in African companies and infrastructure is helping Africa develop, Mr. Kagame said. Annual trade between China and Africa is now worth more than $100bn (£63bn). Chinese companies are active across Africa, but have been criticized by some in the West, who accuse Beijing of failing to promote good governance. Chinese firms, many of them state-owned, regularly bid for major construction projects at costs which Western firms cannot match. In addition, Beijing also operates a policy of non-interference in domestic affairs. That has allowed China to do business in areas of Africa, such as Sudan, where Western firms are constrained by human rights concerns...More