Only with good financial support can Chinese enterprises like JNMC better develop their business in Africa. In response, Chinese bankers are rapidly expanding services in Africa.

The win-win strategy is reflected through cooperation between China's biggest commercial bank - the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) - and South Africa's Standard Bank Group (SBG). ICBC purchased 20 percent of SBG for $5.5 billion in early 2008. Now when an ICBC client in China enlarges its business in South Africa, the bank sends the client to SBG, and SBG directs South African companies doing business in China to ICBC.

As the biggest bank of South Africa and Africa at large, SBG has more than 1,000 branches throughout the continent. ICBC has over 4 million corporate customers, 400 of which are among China's top 500.

Africa is a great potential market for banks, because about 50 percent of Africans don't have a bank account, said Liu Yagan, Chief Representative of ICBC Africa, in an interview with ChinAfrica in Johannesburg. "We are not afraid of competition. Competition only makes us stronger," he said.

By cooperating with SBG, ICBC can successfully enter the mainstream market in Africa, and gain a competitive edge, according to Liu. ICBC now faces a strategic opportunity to expand its business in Africa, he said.

To SBG, ICBC had adequate capital, which was of special importance for a bank, said Jacko Maree, the SBG's CEO. Maree also pointed out most of SBG's profits were from Chinese enterprises investing in Africa.

Through SBG, ICBC had granted loans totaling $8 billion by the end of June 2011. ICBC's successful investment in SBG has helped dispel misperceptions about Chinese enterprises in Africa. "We come here for investment, not for grabbing local resources," Liu said.

While making profits, ICBC attaches great importance to the interests of its clients and employees as well as the communities where it operates.

In China, ICBC pays great attention to the government's environmental protection policies. It prefers green loans, and has dropped all projects that might bring high-energy consumption and high pollution. In South Africa, ICBC and SBG also follow environmental protection principles when granting loans.

SBG has over 50,000 employees in South Africa, and over 50 percent of its managerial staff is from the local black population. ICBC and SBG have jointly created many job opportunities throughout Africa. They have also offered preferential loans for poor families to improve their living conditions.

Through SBG, ICBC spends millions of dollars on sponsoring young artists, singers, actors and actresses, while donating to people living with AIDS and orphans every year.