China’s Hu vows to hike investment in Africa

BAMAKO – President Hu Jintao promised Thursday that China would step up its investment in Africa as Beijing looked to his whirlwind tour of Africa to shake off accusations it exploits the continent.

China stressed the trip would focus less on securing energy supplies – as others in the past had done – and more on shoring up political ties, boosting aid, and working with Africa to fight the impact of the global economic crisis.’We will increase our investments in the continent,’ Hu said in Mali, the first step of a tour that will also take him to Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius.’China will ask the international community to honour their promises to the developing countries,’ he said, adding that China would take the lead by reducing the debt owed to Beijing by African nations.China is often criticised for its alleged drive to secure natural resources from African states, including from regimes spurned by the West like Sudan.Africa is an important source of raw materials for China as well as a growing market for Chinese exports.Mali is Africa’s third biggest gold producer and is one of the continent’s biggest cotton producers and has recently discovered uranium deposits.China’s state-owned aluminium firm Chinalco announced earlier Thursday a US$19,5 billion investment in troubled mining giant Rio Tinto, Beijing’s biggest investment ever in a foreign company.Rio Tinto has significant mining interests in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, as well as huge projects in Guinea and Madagascar.On arrival in Bamako Hu was greeted by Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure who presented him with a calabash filled with kola nuts.After the ceremony Hu and Toure signed several agreements but the contents of the deal were not disclosed.In a short declaration to the press Hu said China would expand its relations with Mali ‘in the field of agriculture, telecommunications and new technologies’.In the past few years China has ramped up its cooperation and aid efforts in Mali and Senegal spending on large infrastructure projects, health care and education.-Nampa-AFP