Backgrounder: Eight steps China will take to boost China-Africa strategic partnership

Chinese President Hu Jintao left Beijing Tuesday to begin state visits to eight African countries from Jan. 30 to Feb. 10.

At the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in early November last year, President Hu said the Chinese government would take eight steps as part of the efforts to forge a new type of China-Africa strategic partnership:

The eight steps are as follows:

-- Double its 2006 assistance to Africa by 2009.

-- Provide 3 billion U.S. dollars of preferential loans and 2 billion dollars of preferential buyer's credits to Africa in the next three years.

-- Set up a China-Africa development fund which will reach 5 billion dollars to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Africa and provide support to them.

-- Build a conference center for the African Union to support African countries in their efforts to strengthen themselves through unity and support the process of African integration.

-- Cancel debt in the form of all the interest-free government loans that matured at the end of 2005 owed by the heavily indebted poor countries and the least developed countries in Africa that have diplomatic relations with China.

-- Further open up China's market to Africa by increasing from 190 to over 440 the number of export items to China receiving zero-tariff treatment from the least developed countries in Africa having diplomatic ties with China.

-- Establish three to five trade and economic cooperation zones in Africa in the next three years.

-- Over the next three years, train 15,000 African professionals; send 100 senior agricultural experts to Africa; set up 10 special agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa; build 30 hospitals in Africa and provide RMB 300 million of grant for providing artemisinin and building 30 malaria prevention and treatment centers to fight malaria in Africa; dispatch 300 youth volunteers to Africa; build 100 rural schools in Africa; and increase the number of Chinese government scholarships to African students from the current 2,000 per year to 4,000 per year by 2009.

Source: Xinhua