China cancels Africa's debt
By Leslie Feinberg
China has cancelled the debts owed to it by 31
African countries. The show of solidarity will give African
leaders greater leverage to demand that the International
Monetary Fund, World Bank and the wealthy finance capitalists
in the bastions of imperialism do the same.
In his opening address to a two-day China-Africa conference
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced
on Dec. 15 that his government has fulfilled, ahead of
schedule, its debt exemption commitments and cancelled debts
totaling $1.27 billion.
Wen Jiabao also promised that China would open its markets
to exports from the 34 least developed African countries on a
preferential, duty-free basis. The current two-way trade volume
between China and Africa is $12 billion annually.
He offered to provide various types of professional training
to 10,000 African personnel over the course of the next three
years.
Wen Jiabao also said his government will work cooperatively
with African countries in the prevention and treatment of AIDS,
malaria, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, in the
prevention of natural disasters and in environmental
protection. He also proposed a China-Africa Youth Festival and
large-scale Africa-themed cultural exchange activities in China
next year.
"It is an unshakeable policy of the new Chinese government
to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries
and other developing nations," he told those gathered at the
Second Ministerial Conference of the China-Africa Cooperation
Forum---the first held on the African continent.
The Chinese premier said that his own country's development
problems limited what it could offer, but that China would not
impose any political conditions on this assistance.
Twelve African heads of state or government took part in the
summit, together with high-level officials from most African
states.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi characterized this
summit as a landmark in China-Africa relations.
Embattled Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe hailed
Beijing's proposals. To punish Mugabe for standing up to
imperialism, the U.S.---and the European Union before it---have
levied economic sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Mugabe denounced the "brutal predominance of America,
unconditionally supported by Britain, Australia and other
nations of Europe recklessly seeking global hegemony under the
convenient but false cover of good governance, human rights and
democracy."
He urged African leaders to "turn their backs" on the
Western imperial powers and work instead to develop stronger
relations with China---a country he said respected African
countries.
Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker has been
currently making the rounds internationally to try to cajole
the leading wealthy imperialist powers in the elite 19-country
Paris Club to back reduction of the debt of another country:
Iraq. Its debt accumulated when it refused to bow to
Washington.
After more than a decade of U.S.-led sanctions, Iraq's debt
to the Paris Club members---including the U.S., Germany,
France, Japan and Russia---is about $40 billion. Baker is
arguing that other countries should write off much of that debt
to aid Iraq's "reconstruction." They are reluctant because the
lion's share of the contracts to "rebuild" Iraq are going to
U.S. firms.
The reality is that it is the U.S., along with Britain and
all the former colonial powers, that owes the peoples of the
Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America centuries of
reparations.
Reprinted from the Jan. 15, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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