Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to provide Africa with $50 billion in financial support over the next three years and strengthen military cooperation in a sweeping effort to deepen China’s relations with a continent seen as key to his geopolitical ambitions.
The Chinese leader laid out his vision for closer ties in a speech to leaders from some 50 African nations Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing. He vowed to upgrade diplomatic relations and offered a range of economic perks to the continent even as China’s slowing growth has limited its ability to lend.
"This is not the kind of pledge that is going to finance large-scale mega infrastructure projects in Africa as the Chinese did,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project, but the amount "does enough to preserve the narrative that China is as committed to Africa as it’s been in the past.”
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