Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-05-05
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| Li Keqiang holds a press conference with Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May. 4. (Photo/Xinhua) |
As China's
premier, Li Keqiang, began his week-long trip to Africa on May. 4, Fumio
Kishida, the Japanese foreign minister pledged on the same day that Tokyo is
ready to provide US$31 billion in aid to Africa over the next five years,
reports the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao.
Kishida
made the comments during an official visit to Republic of Cameroon for a
two-day meeting to promote development in Africa, with the foreign minister
telling senior officials from 50 African countries that Japan will increase aid
to the continent. The timing of the Cameroon visit is no coincidence, the paper
said, as Kishida's comments come as China has pledged $20 billion in aid to
Africa.
Meanwhile,
Li Keqiang arrived in Ethiopia on May 4 on the first leg of his four-nation
tour, he will visit Nigeria, Angola and Kenya before leaving for China on May
11. During the trip, the premier will also attend the 24th World Economic Forum
on Africa taking place in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on May 8.
According
to China's state broadcaster CCTV, Li will sign around 60 agreements with the
nation's partners in Africa, which will cover trade, health, culture,
agriculture and training.
"I
wish to assure our African friends in all seriousness that China will never
pursue a colonialist path like some countries did, or allow colonialism, which
belongs to the past, to reappear in Africa," Li told the state-run Xinhua
News Agency at a press conference prior to his trip. Li stated that he expected
to expand exchanges and cooperation on poverty reduction for common development
with the African nations that he is visiting.
Li is also
seeking to strengthen industrial and commercial cooperation by helping promote
Africa's industrial and manufacturing sector, Ta Kung Pao said.
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