FACTBOX-China and Africa's tightening trade and aid ties
Source: Reuters
Nov 3 (Reuters) - Dozens of African leaders are attending the third China-Africa ministerial summit in Beijing, which Chinese officials describe as the culmination of 50 years of friendly ties. Here is an overview of China and Africa's recent relations. COLD WAR ALLIES - China supported African liberation movements in the 1950s and 1960s to show solidarity against Western colonialism and outdo its ideological rival, the Soviet Union, for influence. - It later built railways for newly independent countries, and educated African students. AID AND TRADE - Over the past 50 years, China has offered economic aid to 53 African countries and cancelled 10.9 billion yuan ($1.36 billion) worth of debt. - In April 2005, China went from being a food aid recipient to the world's third largest food aid donor. Now it helps feed people in Asia and Africa, according to the UN. - By the end of 2005, China had over 800 enterprises in Africa, involving a total investment of $6 billion, the Chinese Commerce Ministry says. CRITICISMS AND CONTROVERSIES - China says its economic aid to African countries is free of political conditions. Critics say its approach undermines international attempts to put pressure on countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe. - They accuse China of stalling U.N. Security Council attempts to censure Sudan's government for its alleged involvement in massacres in Darfur, in order to protect its investments in the oil-rich country. - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, pressured by the West for his human rights record, has also received political and economic support from China, as part of his "Look East" policy that favours ties with China. DIPLOMATIC TIES: - Forty-eight of Africa's 53 countries have formal diplomatic relations with Beijing. - China has also invited the remaining five, which have formal ties with diplomatic rival Taiwan -- Burkina Faso, Gambia, Malawi, Sao Tome and Principe and Swaziland -- to the summit as observers. Sources: Reuters, Xinhua, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Council on Foreign Relations
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