Asean states chase the Chinese investment dollar
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ASEAN leaders had trade and investment on their minds when they met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the Asean-China summit early this week.
With a booming Chinese economy hungry for resources and flush with cash - with US$1 trillion (S$1.6 trillion) in foreign reserves - it was only natural that Asean members would want a share of that pie through trade and investment deals.
And China did not disappoint.
What grabbed attention on Monday was the unveiling of a US$25 billion deal between Malaysia and China in which Malaysian oil company Petronas will provide natural gas to the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai for the next 25 years.
What is more, the two sides agreed to start a feasibility study on forging an economic partnership agreement - a precursor to free trade talks - during a bilateral meeting between Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Mr Wen.
In comparison, Indonesia's trade and economic agreements with China were more modest, although still significant for the two sides.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Mr Wen reaffirmed their commitment to boost bilateral trade to US$30 billion in 2010, double the US$15 billion worth of trade done last year.
In addition, China pledged US$800 million in soft loans to support investment projects in Indonesia.
Before that, in Shanghai last Saturday, President Yudhoyono, who took the opportunity of the summit to drum up investments, presided over the signing of a US$5 billion contract for six energy projects.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo had also led a team of Chinese-Filipino businessmen on a tour of the Guangxi region, as well as Fujian and Jiangxi provinces prior to the summit in Nanning - capital of Guangxi.
During that time, several trade agreements were signed on mining, tourism and infrastructure development.
The less developed Asean countries, such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, wanted China's help in infrastructure construction.
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen told Mr Wen he hoped that China would 'continuously help with Cambodia's infrastructure construction' and welcomed Chinese enterprises to expand investment and build an industrial park in his country.
All these developments have led Chinese expert on Sino-Asean relations Zhang Xizhen to conclude that Asean countries now see China as the 'engine for economic development in the region'.
On Tuesday, President Arroyo, as Asean chairman, said that growing the two sides' trade relations would 'reduce our dependence for exports on Western markets, such as the US and Europe'.
She made the remarks at the launch of a trade exhibition following the summit.
Indeed, China ran a trade deficit of US$20 billion last year on a trade volume of US$130 billion with Asean, as Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai pointed out.
But he added: 'The two-way trade is mutually beneficial. I hope China's vast market could bring benefits to companies in Asean.'
Said Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah: 'What we always believe (is) that China has not been a threat. Perceiving China as a threat has been wrong. We have always regarded China as an opportunity.'
Still, some Asean members have misgivings about whether they will be able to reap full benefits from their economic relationship with China.
For one, Indonesia last year suffered, for the first time, a deficit in its non-oil trade with China although it maintained a trade surplus overall.
Lawmaker Dradjad Wibowo told the Jakarta Post that China had flooded Indonesia with cheap furniture and metal products that threatened local businesses.
He noted that Indonesia was ill-prepared to realise the potential benefits from its trade ties with China. It needed to upgrade its industries such as fertiliser, paper and pulp and furniture-making in order to be able to export finished goods to China, he said.
Other Indonesian officials have acknowledged that while China imported huge amounts of commodities such as rubber, palm oil and timber from Indonesia, it was a stiff competitor for Indonesia in the manufacturing sector.
Thailand, which signed a free trade agreement with China in 2003 that eliminated tariffs on 188 fruit and vegetables, found that its deficit with China in this particular segment of trade increased to 63 kinds in 2004, from only two in 2002.
In the area of investments, Asean invested a total of US$3.1 billion in China last year compared with a piddling US$158 million that China invested in South-east Asia.
China has sought to redress this by pledging US$5 billion in preferential loans to Chinese businesses investing in the region.
However, as Prof Zhang said, Chinese enterprises needed first to build a strong base at home before they could expand overseas.
Asean countries might have to wait a while more for Chinese investments in the region to rise to a level that will meet their expectations.
(Straits Times Nov 2) -
As usual, China is a sleeping giant, when it wakes up, it can help you or destroy you.
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ASEAN chooses the former. Businessmen have signed 132 international cooperation projects involving investment of 5.845 billion US dollars by the press time at the ongoing Third China- ASEAN Expo, up 10.47 percent from the figures of last year's Expo.Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:As usual, China is a sleeping giant, when it wakes up, it can help you or destroy you.
Participants of the Third China-ASEAN Expo also endorsed 301 domestic cooperation projects involving 55.374 billion yuan (6.9 billion US dollars) of investment, up 10.36 percent from the figure of last year.
The Third China-ASEAN Expo was held in Nanning from October 31 to November3, attracting more than 2,000 companies from China and ASEAN countries. -
Our African friends choose the former. The Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) has become an important platform for dialogue between China and Africa and an effective mechanism for pragmatic collaboration, President Hu Jintao said Wednesday.Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:As usual, China is a sleeping giant, when it wakes up, it can help you or destroy you.
Hu made the remarks when meeting some leaders of African countries who arrived in the capital to attend the Beijing Summit of the FOCAC, which opens on Saturday.
"The Beijing Summit will be a great undertaking in the history of China-Africa relations," Hu said.
During the summit, with the theme of friendship, peace, co-operation and development, "we will look back at the development of the China-Africa friendship and devise a blueprint for future partnership," he said.
"The summit is surely a milestone in the history of China-Africa relations and will bring about broader prospects for the future development."
Heads of state or government and high-ranking officials from 48 countries are expected to participate in the summit, the largest ever staged in the country since the founding of New China in 1949.
A series of deals on co-operation between China and Liberia and Guinea-Bissau were signed yesterday following separate talks Hu held with the leaders of the two countries.
Joao Bernardo Vieira, president of Guinea-Bissau, and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of Liberia, are in Beijing on state visits as well as to attend the upcoming summit.
According to the documents, China will increase economic and technical co-operation with Guinea-Bissau, the first country to collaborate with China on deep-sea fishing.
Meanwhile, China will offer assistance to Liberia in the maintenance and expansion of a national broadcasting station and school buildings. The two sides also agreed to co-operate in mining, oil and gas exploration.
During talks with Vieira, Hu said China hoped the two nations strengthen co-operation under the FOCAC framework, and enhance consultations in international affairs.
This is "in an effort to jointly safeguard the legal interests of developing countries and to make contributions to the construction of a harmonious world," Hu said.
Vieira expressed appreciation to China for providing his country with assistance.
Just before talks with Johnson-Sirleaf, Hu extended birthday wishes to the president who celebrated her 68th birthday four days ago.
Johnson-Sirleaf arrived in Beijing on Saturday, the first African leader to arrive for the Beijing Summit.
Hu suggested the two nations maintain high-level exchanges to enhance political trust and increase co-operation in trade, infrastructure, education and health.
Johnson-Sirleaf said Liberia would forge a strategic partnership with China and boost co-operation in the trade, investment, infrastructure construction, education and public health fields.
She reiterated that the Liberian Government pursues the one-China policy, which will not be changed.
Hu yesterday also met Gabonese President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, Alpha Oumar Konar, chairman of the Commission of the African Union, and Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, president of the Union of Comoros.
Africa has "a need and a good opportunity" for full collaboration with China to achieve sustainable development, a special envoy from the continent said yesterday in Beijing.
"Today, African countries, with a new spirit, are striving hard with the aim of realizing rejuvenation and development," Ethiopian Ambassador Haile-Kiros Gessesse told the opening of the two-day Fifth Senior Officials Meeting, which is a prelude to the China-Africa summit this weekend.
"Apart from the collective endeavours of African countries, there is a need and a good opportunity for full co-operation and meaningful engagement from our friends and partners such as China to realize these objectives."
Speaking as a special envoy for Ethiopia, the co-chair country of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC), Gessesse said Sino-African ties, based on "the very nature of friendship, equality, solidarity and common development," have passed the test of time, winning the hearts of many.
He singled out China's preferential market access for some African products, which has resulted in a rise in trade volume and continuous improvement in the trade balance.
Trade between China and African countries increased from a mere US$10 million in the 1950s to nearly US$39.7 billion last year, when African exports to China soared to US$21 billion, according to official statistics.
"Believe me, if expanded to other commodities, this opportunity is tantamount to development assistance, as market access has also been an urgent call from developing countries including those of Africa, in the global market," he said.
He revealed that in the draft Beijing Action Plan (2007-09), to be discussed during the summit, China commits to opening its market wider and providing zero-tariff treatment to more African products.
"This, by itself, has great potential to expand Sino-African trade and economic relations for common benefit," he told senior officials from China and 48 African countries.
Gessesse also said that though endowed with rich natural resources and being a huge potential market, the efforts of African countries for sustainable development cannot be realized without skilled manpower.
"Therefore, we also largely believe that China's continued support in this regard would be vital in the economic development of African countries," the ambassador said.
The Senior Officials Meeting is the fifth in the framework of the FOCAC. It will review the preparation work for the Beijing Summit and the Third FOCAC Ministerial Conference scheduled from tomorrow to Sunday.
The summit, the largest and highest-level gathering of Chinese and African leaders, will push friendship to a new high, Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said yesterday.
Chinese and African officials had reached consensus on the drafts of an action plan and Declaration of Beijing Summit of FOCAC the two main documents of the summit during a special Senior Officials Meeting in Beijing in September.
Founded in 2000, FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and co-operation to cope with new challenges and facilitate common development. -
Our American friends choose the former. Thanks to the booming economy and warming political ties between China and Latin America, China's top steel, metal and oil producers and suppliers are now heading for Latin America on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:As usual, China is a sleeping giant, when it wakes up, it can help you or destroy you.
Meanwhile, China's leading electric home appliances producers, such as Lenovo and TCL, are also setting up factories in Latin America to produce television sets, DVD players, computers and mobile phones.
Of the 42,000 tons of steel, which forged the under-construction National Stadium, dubbed the "Bird's Nest", over half were from China's leading steelmaker Baoshan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd, and -- most possibly -- refined from iron ore explored in Brazilian mines.
Enthusiasm for investment
Previously, there have been dozens of small and middle-sized Chinese-funded factories or assembly lines for clothes, shoes, toys and electric appliances in Mexico, Peru, Brazil and other countries in the region.
Chinese companies flocked into Latin America for various reasons when the Sino-Latin American trade surged from some 2 billion U.S. dollars in the early 1990s to 50 billion dollars in 2005.
China's overseas investment reached 5.5 billion dollars in 2004 as the country encouraged more domestic companies to "go abroad". Of which, 32 percent, or 1.76 billion dollars, went to Latin American countries.
"Some of the Chinese companies went there to ensure a steady and long-term supply of raw materials, such as the Baosteel, some did it for local market potentials, and some others have an eye on the nearby markets like the United States," said Xun Guangying, a senior researcher with an international study center attached to Xinhua News Agency.
Investment and factories from China are expected to facilitate local industrial development and boost local employment in Latin America.
"We hope to expand cooperation with Lenovo, especially in the sectors of logistic and manufacture," said Alejandro Cano, director of the industrial development bureau of the Mexican State of Chihuahua, where four Chinese-funded Lenovo suppliers were based. Of the 763-million-dollar foreign investment flowing into the state last year, 15 percent was from China.
"We hope the Chinese experts will help train more local technicians and help in local industrial progress," said Mexican Ambassador to China Sergio Ley Lopez. "We can satisfy China's increasing need for materials and service and every country here wants to sign free trade agreement with China."
The heating Chinese market has also lured investors from Latin America. By the end of 2005, a total of 17,956 projects in China were funded by Latin American companies, with a total investment of 56.9 billion dollars, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
From Brazilian Barbecue to bread and cakes branded "Bimbo", Yang Jin, as well as many other Beijing residents, now has more chances to taste Latin American delicacies while the Latin American food and drink industry is also trying to take a bite in the huge Chinese market backed up with a population of 1.3 billion.
Of the 21 Latin American countries which have established diplomatic ties with China, 15 have inked inter-governmental trade agreements with China. Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Panama are the top five trade partners of China in the Latin American region so far.
However, the growing imports of some low-price Chinese products backed by low labor cost and high productivity, especially clothes and shoes, resulted in direct competition with local industries in countries like Mexico, Brazil and Peru, and thus sparked trade conflicts.
Even though, Chinese and Latin American countries had tried their best to iron out difficulties and boost cooperation to a higher level.
To regulate and promote the rocketing trade and two-way investment, China has worked closely with its trade partners in Latin America to forge a framework. China has signed investment protection agreements with Cuba, Jamaica, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru and Barbados.
In the World Trade Organization, Brazil, India and China, three key members of the so-called "Golden BRICs" -- a label for the world's four soaring economies also including Russia, have led a group of developing countries to bargain with the advanced industrial members such as the United States, the European Union and Japan for a fair world trade order.
On November 1, 2005, Venezuela signed a contract with a Chinese company to buy a satellite for communication and broadcasting service, which will be launched in 2008. Two weeks later, China and Chile signed a free trade agreement, which is the first FTA between China and Latin American countries.
China and Brazil have also conducted broad cooperation in such fields as design and manufacture of civil aircraft, satellites, software and in bio-technology sectors in recent years, which is reputed as an "example" of South-South Cooperation.
"There is competition in some sectors between Mexico and China, but we regard China as a partner rather than a competitor. We can join hands and explore the international market," said Sergio Ley Lopez, who gave himself a Chinese name "Li Ziwen". Li is one of the most popular family names in China.
Looking back into history, Chinese silk, porcelain and cotton yarn were shipped to Mexico and Peru via Manila as early as in the middle of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In return, the Latin America-oriented agricultural plants, such as corn, potato, peanut, sunflower, tomato and tobacco, have now become China's typical agricultural products.
There is also argument that during a seafaring adventure some 600 years ago, the great Chinese sailor Zheng He and his fleet discovered the American continent seventy years earlier than Columbus. But, the first diplomatic ties between China and Latin American countries were established from the 1870s to 1900s, when China's last feudal dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), forged diplomatic relations with Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba and Panama.
Now, the increasingly substantial and fruitful cooperation has linked the two sides closer across the Pacific Ocean. -
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China has established strategic partnership or all-round cooperative relations with Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela and Chile. China also has a traditional friendly relationship with Cuba. Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visits to Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Cuba in 2004 further strengthened such ties.
Meanwhile, China has kept close contact with regional organizations. It became an observer of the Organization of American States and the Latin-American Parliament in 2004, and also established links with other regional organizations such as the Rio Group, Andean Community, Caribbean Community and Common Market and the South American Common Market.
"All being developing countries, China shares many common ground with Latin American countries. We have all experienced the fight against imperialism and colonialism and the struggle for independence. All of these have forged the political basis for bilateral cooperation," said Chinese senior legislator Cheng Siwei, who is also chairman of the China-Latin America Friendship Association.
However, the Taiwan issue sometimes stands in the way of cooperation between China and countries in the Latin American region.
Of the 20-odd countries in the world that have "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan, an island province of China which was separated from the mainland as a result of a civil war between the nationalists and communists, 12 were located in Latin America and the Caribbean region.
"One of China's important task is to settle the Taiwan issue through peaceful reunification. To accomplish this goal, the mainland needs to make great efforts to limit Taiwan's so-called 'international space', which is a cover for official diplomatic relations and has provided room for the secessionist activities on the island," said Jiang Shixue, a researcher of the Latin America Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
In a bid to further political relations with Caribbean countries and contribute to regional peace and prosperity, China kicked off regular consultations with some Caribbean countries that have diplomatic ties with China. The latest one was held in Beijing in July.
China also dispatched four groups of peace-keeping forces to Haiti since 2004 and helped secure the vote counting center of the general election there earlier this year, as well as the later presidential inauguration.
China's deepening political and economic involvement in the region has raised concern in the United States, which regards the region as its "backyard" though many local people don't think so.
"The United States might worry that a 'Chinese dragon' will threaten its economy and security by entering the so-called 'backyard', which is absolutely unnecessary," Jiang with the CASS said.
Latin America is adopting an open policy towards other countries and China is only one of the region's new partners. Meanwhile, the mutually-beneficial cooperation between the two sides, which both belong to the third world, will only contribute to world peace and prosperity and promote the South-South Cooperation, he noted.
Even though, to avoid misunderstanding and facilitate the China-U.S.-Latin America triangle cooperation, China has launched consultation on Latin American affairs with the United States.
"We will try our best to develop relations with every country in the region, which is very important to China in every aspect," said a senior diplomat with the Chinese Foreign Ministry who asked not to be identified.
Ways for future
Though jumbo jets help shorten travel time greatly compared with the alleged journey of Zheng He back in the Ming Dynasty, the time of flight from Beijing to Latin American cities still doubles that between China and the United States, or at least 20 hours. Maritime transportation will even take more than a month.
"Most Latin Americans do not know much about China, neither do the Chinese have a clear vision of the region on the other side of the Pacific. Most Chinese may know the names of Latin American football stars very well, but have little impression about those stars' homeland," Jiang said.
Then, how to ensure the booming ties between China and Latin America have a bright and sustainable future? Maybe a 23-year-aged Argentine university student Pablo Morales has given an answer.
"I'm interested in Chinese culture and the way of thinking of the Chinese people," said the young guy who gave himself a Chinese name Lin Yuhan. Morales started his Chinese study two years ago along with 30 classmates in a private language school in Mendoza.
"I learned Chinese to study international relations and media organization. I hope to find a job of journalism in China after graduation," said Morales, now a grade-five student in the National University of Cuyo in Mendoza, when he came to Beijing to attend a three-day international contest known as the "Chinese Language Bridge".
In a bid to help foreigners like Morales learn the Chinese language and culture better and promote long-term friendship with the rest of the world, China kicked off in 2004 a project to establish the so-called Confucius Institutes overseas. Such institutes are named after the prestigious ancient Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius. The first Confucius Institute in Latin America was founded in Mexico.
Another way proven effective is to develop tourism and increase cultural exchange, which will help peoples on both sides to know more about each other's life, history and culture.
In a six-month-long exhibition hosted in the National Museum by the Tian'anmen Square in downtown Beijing, 248 pieces of rare ancient relics from Peru were put on display, attracting many Chinese visitors.
As the guest country of a month-long art festival in Beijing, Mexico also sent a large delegation to the "Meet in Beijing" carnival this May, which involved music and dance performances, movie show, and architecture and handicrafts exhibitions.
In a bid to promote tourism, China has inked tourism agreements with Cuba, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Peru since 2003, which will facilitate Chinese tourists to visit the far-away continent.
"Thanks to the cultural links, many Peruvians now will say 'Chifan', the Chinese term for 'let's have a meal', instead of Spanish in local Chinese restaurants," said Peruvian Ambassador to China Luis Chang. -
A high-level delegation from Guangzhou is currently in Singapore to attract local companies to invest in the Nansha Development Zone.
Led by Vice-Mayor Chen Mingde of the Guangzhou Municipal Government, the Chinese delegation is promoting Guangzhou as a new petrochemicals and logistics hub.
Their visit comes just one week after Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Guangzhou for free trade talks.
The Guangzhou government is planning to invest S$1.9b in Nansha, to promote the area as a petrochemicals, oil logistics, and automobile hub.
Up to 70 percent of fuel oil to China, is shipped through Guangzhou, and the Nansha Development Zone is poised to tap into the massive growth potential.
By 2010, Guangdong province is projected to have an annual oil refining capacity of 30 million tons, and an annual ethylene output of 2 million tons, and the capital Guangzhou is being touted as the next Detroit.
"In the next couple of years, Nansha will be a very important petrochemical, the automobile. In the recent 3 years, 3 Japanese giants - Toyota, Honda and Nissan,came to Guangzhou together. This hasn't happened in the world, just in Detroit. We can say that Guangzhou is the second Detroit in the world," said Sun Lei, Director General, Guangzhou Municipal Board for International Investment.
Right now, more than 300 Singapore companies have investments in Guangzhou, among them the Hong Kong-listed Titan Petrochemicals Group.
Titan has invested US$250m in an oil storage terminal in Nansha, and it will launch the Huanan Petrochemicals Exchange, an electronic commodities trading platform, in the first half of next year.
Titan says that investment opportunities for Singapore firms in petrochemicals-related sectors are plentiful.
"I think it's several things - the rapidly growing demand for oil, and also a lack of suitable infrastructures. Many of the existing terminals are not suitable for large-scale imports. They cannot handle large tankers. When you want to transport oil efficiently, you want to use big tankers, and we're providing the kind of facilities that China needs," said Barry Cheung, Chief Executive, Titan Petrochemicals Group.
Last year, Singapore investments in Guangzhou reached US$100m.
For this year, the Guangzhou government is expecting investments to exceed that amount by 20 percent.
Yet, actual investment by Singapore companies into Guangdong only accounts for 2 percent of total Foreign Direct Investment.
That could be a sign of the great potential waiting to be tapped. -
China is a rousing giant and it is already destroying it neighbours.
What has China done for Singapore? Has China started companies in Singapore and begin hiring Singaporeans? Or has China buy Singaporean goods or hire Singaporeans in China?
The Chinese are smart, they need to build themselves first. Meaning, they take what they can first before deciding if they want to help you.
Singapore believes in giving first and then hoping for a return; and we are still hoping.
Taking a leaf from the recent GELife case. The Chinese staged a mass resignation because they are not happy that senior management are from Singapore. Similar case has been heard in many other (including my own company).
They believe they can do the same job and earn that higher pay. The believe that everything has to be run their way, with their people.
In Singapore, again we are the total opposite, we understand that foreign companies will want their management to be of their own and thus we have tons of expats here.
Hear if you have ears, China will destroy the region and is already sucking the region dry before it is fully awake. Don't bet on the idea that China will invest or buy outside of China. Can we match their price and resources? What we have here, they have plenty more.
So far, the Chinese has only provide Singaporean males with a cheaper alternatives in prostitution. Even our local legalize prostitution is suffering from the yellow plague. I thought prostitution is bad but I learned that control prostitution will reduce crime rate. But this is outrageous.
Go to Geylang at night. Ask any man in Singapore and they will tell you. Yet, our govt and police seems to be oblivious to this. -
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Chinese president, Hu Jintao pledged billions of dollars in aid to Africa as the biggest diplomatic gathering ever hosted by China got under way, aimed at deepening trade, cooperation, and genuine partnership.
Hu announced fresh pledges of aid and loans in the next three years, saying China's aid to Africa would double by 2009.
China would also provide three billion dollars of preferential loans and two billion dollars of preferential buyer's credits loan to the continent, he said.
Beijing would also cancel more debt owed by poor African countries in the form of interest-free government loans, he announced.
Business is a major focus of the summit, with more than 2,500 deals under discussion.
Hu pledged China would further open up its market to Africa by increasing the number of tariff-free export products from 190 to 440 and establish three to five trade and economic cooperation zones in Africa.
A five-billion-dollar development fund to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Africa would also be set up.
Beijing will also train 15,000 African professionals, build schools, hospitals and anti-malaria clinics and send Chinese youth volunteers to Africa, he added.
"China will forever be a good friend, good partner, good brother of Africa," Hu told the 48 African countries represented at the Great Hall of the People.
"Common development is the shared aspiration of the Chinese and African peoples... We are committed to pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation to bring the benefits of development to our peoples."
"Without combined development between China and Africa, there will be no global peace and development," the Chinese president said.
Trade between China and Africa is expected to exceed US$50 billion this year, a near tenfold increase since 1995, and one of the main themes of the China-Africa Forum is ensuring that number continues to grow.
A total of 41 African heads of state and government, a vice president and several top economic leaders are representing their nations at the meeting. It is the biggest diplomatic gathering ever hosted by China.
Beijing invited the leaders from 48 of Africa's 53 nations -- with the other five countries which recognize Taiwan also encouraged to send representatives -- in what the officials and scholars are hailing as an historic event between a fast-growing China and the world's least developed continent.
"China and Africa cooperation serves peace and development on both sides as well as the world," China's foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. A total of 35 African heads of state, six heads of government, a vice president and several top economic leaders are representing their nations at the meeting, he said.
"When China is building roads and schools and providing health infrastructure and agricultural technology to African countries, are we damaging human rights in Africa? Are we hurting good governance in those countries? African people are benefiting from China's projects," said Liu.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are holding multiple meetings with a procession of African heads of state at the Great Hall of the People, with new cooperation projects and aid programs being discussed, and new ideas of a wide range of interests being exchanged.
China's media have promoted the "three 50s": 50 years of Chinese-African cooperation, 53 African countries, $50 billion in two-way trade, a near ten-fold increase since 1995. China Central Television is conducting a nationwide survey to select 10 outstanding African icons, contenders including South African diamonds and the Sahara Desert.
Sources said that by the end of the meeting China will unveil a variety of trade and aid concessions to the African countries. These may include a list of African goods that can enter China tariff-free, increases in aid and technical cooperation and debt forgiveness.
More than 2,500 business deals will be under discussion at the official two-day summit beginning Saturday, Chinese deputy trade minister Wei Jianguo said.
And comments by participants about a statement to be released on Sunday after the summit emphasized that China and Africa are intent on building up their relationships in a wide range of spheres aside from trade.
"The Beijing Declaration will aim to establish a new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa based on equality, mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchanges," an envoy from summit co-chair Ethiopia was quoted in China's state press as saying.
African leaders were also taken on a tour of some of the venues being built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including the National Stadium known as the "bird's nest" because of its mesh of interlocking steel beams.
Some Western governments have expressed concerns or nervousness in the face of the getting-closer ties between China and Africa, some criticizing Beijing's unrestricted lending and investment policies in Africa regardless of African countries' governance and human rights record. China shrugged off that claim.
"Our principle when handling our relations with other countries is to never try to impose our social system, development mode, values and ideology upon other countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. -
China's foreign exchange reserves have reached $1 trillion, Chinese state television said on Monday, citing sources with the foreign exchange regulator.
Already the world's largest, the reserves hit $987.9 billion at the end of September and have been expanding at such a rapid pace that they had been expected to surpass $1 trillion at any time.
The International Monetary Fund said earlier the reserves would top $2 trillion in 2010.
"China's foreign exchange reserves have reached $1 trillion," China Central Television (CCTV) reported without giving details.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange was not immediately available for comment.
Beijing has pledged to use its reserves in a responsible manner that will not destabilise global markets.
Some government economists have recommended that China diversify its stockpile of reserves, much of which is parked in U.S. government debt, away from the dollar to guard against foreign exchange risks.
Analysts have cautioned that any major sell-off of dollar assets could cause the U.S. currency to plunge and have an adverse impact on global financial markets. -
Chinese President Hu Jintao will kick off his maiden trip to India later this month amid reports that Beijing is considering talks with New Delhi on a free trade area (FTA).
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular briefing yesterday that Hu will make a state visit to India from November 20 to 23 following official visits to Viet Nam and Laos. He will then visit Pakistan for another four days.
Hu will also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit in Hanoi, the capital of Viet Nam, next week.
The FTA issue is widely expected to be discussed during Hu's visit to India; and Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai yesterday hoped for successful negotiations.
China is currently holding FTA talks with Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has recently expressed interest in a similar arrangement.
"Trade and economic co-operation between China and India serve the interests of both countries," Cui said, noting that bilateral trade volume is expected to exceed US$20 billion this year.
He said China is India's second-largest trading partner and the two sides co-operate closely in energy, agriculture, technology and education.
Earlier reports quoted Fu Ziying, assistant minister of commerce, as saying that China is considering FTA talks with India; and observers said fruition would only be a matter of time.
Liu Jian, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the resumption of cross-border trade at the Himalayan Nathu La Pass in July is a good prelude to the FTA talks.
He said the "conditions for the establishment of a free trade area have been improving. The free trade area will not only conform to the trend of economic globalization, but also strengthen bilateral ties."
He noted that trade between the two Asian giants, both among the world's fastest-growing economies, soared in the past decade, from US$1.16 billion to US$18.7 billion last year, with year-on-year growth of 32 per cent.
During his trip to the world's second-most populous country last April, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh set a bilateral trade target of US$50 billion by 2010.
They also agreed to set up a joint task force to study the feasibility of a free trade area.
According to Indian media, the task force held its first round of talks last September and the next meeting is scheduled for December.
Liu said Hu's visit will be the climax of the Year of China-India Friendship and help enhance trust and understanding.
He said both the government and the people are keen to push forward Sino-Indian co-operation as demonstrated by the newly-minted word "Chindia," and made well-known in the title of a book by Jairam Ramesh, India's junior minister for commerce.
Top-level exchanges
In Hanoi, Hu is scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the APEC Summit.
Vice-Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and visiting US Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, who is in charge of political affairs, will co-chair the third China-US Strategic Dialogue in Beijing today.
The meeting between Hu and Abe will be their second since the latter took office last month and chose China and the Republic of Korea for his first official visits.