Strong progress in China's aid

China has revealed solid progress in its aid program to Africa, in an official document which shows 51 out of the continent's 54 countries have now received assistance in some form, from the world's second-largest economy.

According to the document, 'China's Foreign Aid (2014)', the country provided aid assistance to 121 countries worldwide between 2010 and 2012, worth 89.34 billion yuan ($14.5 billion).

The money mainly came in the form of grants, interest free loans and concessional loans, those extended on terms substantially more generous than the market offers.

In Africa, Chinese aid was used on some 86 major infrastructure projects, including construction of the African Union Conference Center and Office Complex in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

The Chinese aid program was handled under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation - which promotes economic, political, and social ties between country and continent - which the document said was still expanding its assistance to the region.

Priority during those three years was given to African agricultural development, with aid used to establish and start the construction of 22 agricultural technology development centers across the continent.

Explaining its overall policy, the document said China established national and regional infrastructure building cooperation partnerships to offer support in project planning and feasibility, and then encouraging Chinese enterprises and financial institutions to become involved in their construction.

Another key sector was health: The document revealed China assisted in the building of 30 hospitals and 30 malaria prevention and control centers, provided 800 million yuan worth of medical equipment and supplies and anti-malarial drugs, and trained 3,000 medical staff across the continent.

It reported there are currently 43 Chinese medical teams working in 42 African countries.

The statistics reveal China also built 150 primary and secondary schools, and trained 47,000 people from various professions within the period.

Under the Africa Talent Programme, 18,000 government scholarships were funded during the three years.

Other notable contributions were made in environmental control, with progress reporting in the building of un-manned geological stations and high-altitude observation radar stations.

China also provided various counties with forest protection equipment and again carried out extensive training and skills exchange.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/26/2014 page3)