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By Alan Wheatley, China Economics Editor

SHANGHAI, May 15 (Reuters) - China promised on Tuesday to do more to strengthen Africa's economy but ran into suspicions that, while sincere in its desire to help the world's poorest continent, it is acting primarily out of self-interest.

Africa is enjoying its fastest burst of growth in 30 years on the back of booming Chinese demand, but some capitals fret that Beijing is not helping Africa to capture more profit from its commodities by investing in factories to process oil, minerals and timber into finished products.

"The rush by China for raw materials from Africa could easily lead to another plunder of Africa's natural resources like the Europeans did in the last century," said Peter Nyongo, a former Kenyan minister of planning and national development.

Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Beijing would redouble efforts to share the lessons of its economic take-off and would encourage more Chinese companies, especially smaller privately owned firms, to invest in Africa.

"Economic cooperation between Asia and Africa has great significance, huge potential and a bright future," Zhou said.

The debate unfolded on the eve of the first annual meeting of the African Development Bank to be held in Asia.

The choice of Shanghai, China's futuristic financial metropolis, as the venue for the meeting underscores the gulf in living standards between many parts of Asia and Africa thanks to the former's success in harnessing high savings and attracting foreign capital.

"The Western world, and now the Asian world, is way ahead of us. How can we compete against them when their educational levels are so high, and their technology skills are so strong?" Madagascar's president, Marc Ravalomanana, asked rhetorically.

Ministers queued up to say how much Africa can learn from Asia's Tiger economies. But there was also an undercurrent of concern that the continent risks becoming too dependent on trade and investment with Asia, especially China.

"The question we must ask ourselves, and answer today and from now on, will be: is this a blessing or a curse for Africa?" Kenyan Finance Minister Amos Kimunya said.

ACTIVE ROLE

The central bank chief said China's aim was to encourage basic industries to shift to Africa, just as they have moved in turn over the years from Japan to South Korea to China and now to countries like Vietnam in search of cheaper places to produce.

"In addition, Chinese financial institutions will attach more importance to their involvement in Africa. We will take a more active part in infrastructure building in Africa and provide support in terms of financial sector development," Zhou said.

China has been actively wooing Africa. President Hu Jintao hosted the continent's leaders at an unprecedented summit in Beijing in November and has offered billions of dollars in loans, aid and debt write-offs.

South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said Beijing was behaving no differently from any other government.

"We'd be deluding ourselves if we think the interests of China are purely altruistic," he said. "The key question is whether we have the ability to negotiate."

Abdoulaye Diop, Senegal's economy and finance minister, agreed and said it was up to Africa to play off China against the West. "China is much more of a threat to Western than to African countries," he said.

Between 2001 and 2005, Africa's exports to China rose to $21.1 billion from $4.8 billion. Its imports from China, mainly low-cost manufactured goods, trebled to $18.6 billion.

Buoyed by rising trade and investment with Asia as a whole and benefiting from big write-offs of debt owed to Western governments and to international financial institutions, Africa should grow by 5.9 percent this year and 5.7 percent in 2008, according to the African Development Bank.

That would be the sixth year in a row in which growth was almost double its long-term average.

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