"Neo-coloniaism"claims baseless

However, this friendly and cooperative journey has been dubbed "neo-colonialism" by some Western media. Sino-African relations developed rapidly over the past decade. Some Western politicians, media and NGOs focus on the activities of the Chinese Government, companies and even individuals in Africa. They collect any possible mistakes made by Chinese people in Africa and exaggerate the negative actions of some individual companies, saying they are indicators of China's behavior in Africa. Under their pens, China-Africa cooperation in resource exploration becomes "resource plunder;" China's principle of non-interference in internal affairs has even been linked to the erosion of democracy and human rights development in some African countries.

In fact, in the last 10 years, Africa has grown from "the hopeless continent" to having publications announce that "Africa [is] rising" (cover captions from The Economist in 2001 and 2011) mainly because of its increasingly close economic ties with other emerging economies, including China. According to a report issued by the Standard Bank of South Africa in February, the BRICS countries' trade with Africa grew much faster than their trade with other regions. In 2012, the total trade volume between BRICS countries with Africa reached $340 billion, a 10-fold increase over the past decade. This figure is expected to exceed $500 billion in 2015. Of this amount, 60 percent will be China-Africa trade.

China's involvement has been much more beneficial to Africa than that of the continent's traditional partners. China's affordable and high-quality commodities have provided viable options for African consumers. Thanks to the great increase of their trade with China, sub-Saharan nations have maintained an annual economic growth of nearly 6 percent in recent years, becoming one of the world's fastest-growing regions in economic terms (Sino-African trade contributed 20 percent of economic growth in Africa in recent years). China's aid and investment in Africa and its business activities on the continent have enhanced the continent's capacity to independently determine their development path and increased employment opportunities and tax revenue in African countries. China's efforts have also trained a large number of African professionals, and brought useful technologies to African countries in different development phases. In general, the mutually beneficial development of Sino-African cooperation has become a reality, rather than a mere commitment.

Even on a political level, democracy, human rights and good governance are definitely not the patented products or private slogans of any country, but the common pursuit of people all over the world. Democracy and human rights are not a baseless mirage, and cannot be achieved within short periods of time by chanting good slogans. These values should be built on the basis of economic development, high rates of education and improved legal and democratic awareness. Hence, by energetically developing economic and trade cooperation with African countries, helping African countries construct infrastructure, improving people's livelihoods by reducing poverty and launching human resources training, China is actually building the economic and human resources foundations that Africa will need to establish democracy and good governance.

As for the claim that China's issuing aid to Africa with no political strings attached may negatively influence democracy and anti-corruption movements in Africa, Deborah Brautigam, a professor at American University and a famous expert on China-Africa relations, in her book The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa, pointed out that though there were problems with China's aid to Africa, China is not a "rogue donor." Actually, China's ways of providing aid and commercial investment can restrain corruption. Unlike other donors, such as the World Bank, China's loans and aid seldom go to the recipient country's government. In general, when a project agreement is reached, the funds will go directly from Chinese banks to the Chinese companies responsible for the construction of the project. This can reduce the opportunities for corruption within (African) governments. More importantly, there is no evidence showing that China's policy of aid with no political strings attached worsens any country's democratic conditions.

During his visit, Xi pointed out that a man should not have his body in the 21st century while his head is still in the past. Those whose heads are still in the Cold War period and who are still promoting the idea that China is a "neo-colonial" power should abandon the outdated "zero-sum" philosophy of the Cold War, and look at Sino-African relations with a new understanding of mutually beneficial development.

(The author is a senior research fellow at the Chahar Institute, and director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' African Research Section)