China to keep an open mind about cooperation with US in Africa

China said on Friday that it will keep an open mind about discussions with the United States on cooperation in Africa. The remarks came after the White House unveiled a new strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa, with US President Barack Obama predicting that Africa will be "the world's next major economic success story".

"China and the US are both important cooperative partners of Africa, with respective characteristics and advantages," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular news briefing.

Saying that Africa's peace and stability concerns the prosperity and stability of the world, the spokesman stressed that the will of African countries should be respected and that cooperation should be based on the principles of equality and reciprocity.