Unfair to paint China as a colonialist in Africa
He Yafei says accusations of Chinese exploitation of African resources are not based on the facts, which instead show much-needed investment and trade helping to build up the continent
The African continent, with its fast growth of the past decade, is a future wonderland for prosperity that will benefit foreign investment and entrepreneurs. Strangely, rumours have been circulating that target China as a "villain" which is plundering Africa for its energy resources. That's a big lie. The real story about China and Africa is one of a long-lasting friendship based on mutual benefit and support.
Friendly relations go back several decades. China's signature aid project, the Tanzania-Zambia railroad, is a symbol of that strong bond.
Today, those ties are even stronger, with the political relationship having been upgraded to a strategic partnership. This was articulated in 2006 by then Ethiopian premier Meles Zenawi, who noted that China's principle of sovereign equality and non-interference constituted the foundation of mutual trust between the two regions.
For half a century, China has offered full and unswerving support to African nations in their fight against colonialism and apartheid as well as for independence. Africa, an important group in the UN system, has stood behind China as it sought to safeguard its interests in various fields.
Africa has become one of the pillars in Beijing's pursuit of sustainable economic development; China is the biggest trading partner and one of the key investors in Africa. Since the 1990s, China-African economic co-operation has morphed from one of mainly economic assistance to a complex model of co-operation in trade, investment, finance and technology.
Annual bilateral trade in 2012 topped US$200 billion while China's investment stood at US$21.23 billion. Meanwhile, African investment in China - from sovereign funds in South Africa, Nigeria, Gabon, Angola and others - has surpassed US$10 billion.