Inaugurated as a vehicle to improve cooperation between China and the African continent in 2000, the annual Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has become a platform for communication and cooperation. On the eve of the Beijing Summit and the Third Ministerial Conference of the forum, to be held in early November, Beijing Review reporter Liu Wei spoke to Zhou Yabin, head of the West Asia and Africa Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), about Sino-African trade and the forum's agenda on promoting the economic relations between China and Africa.

Beijing Review: How do you view Sino-African trade and economic relations?

Zhou Yabin: The historical friendship between China and Africa has become closer over the years. China and African countries have similar historical experiences, whether during the fight for national liberation or the campaign of building their countries. Strong friendship has grown out of mutual sympathy and support between China and Africa, which has made the link between China and Africa a model of south-south cooperation.

The highly complementary cooperative partnership between China and Africa is reflected by expanding trade and economic relations. The Chinese Government has been actively developing trade with Africa, expanding exports to Africa, encouraging Chinese companies to invest in Africa, strengthening cooperation in infrastructure construction and agriculture and transferring technologies to Africa. The goal is to turn these countries' advantages in natural resources into competitive edges and enhance their economic strength. Since the beginning of the new century, especially the inauguration of the forum, the trade and economic relations between China and Africa have entered a new stage of rapid, comprehensive and steady development.

How has economic and technological cooperation between China and Africa progressed in recent years?

Since China's reform and opening up, the Chinese Government has been actively giving incentives and guidelines to companies that contract projects in African countries with their mature technologies and management expertise. The economic and technological cooperation China has been conducting in Africa involves a wide spectrum of economic fields, including petrochemical products, power generation, transportation, telecommunication, irrigation, metallurgy and railway construction. Through exporting useful and advanced technologies and training local engineers and management personnel, China has helped enhance the innovation capacity of African countries.

By the end of 2005, China had undertaken to fund 800 projects in 49 African countries and Chinese companies had embarked on 58 projects with favorable loans in 26 African countries. Moreover, China has provided a lot of material and technological aid and trained over 10,000 professionals in the areas of rice and vegetable planting, fish raising, meat-processing, acupuncture, the manufacture of agricultural machinery, solar power exploration and weather forecast. China's selfless aid has been widely welcomed and praised by African governments and people.

What kind of measures has the Chinese Government taken to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Africa?

African countries are eager for Chinese investment, while the Chinese Government also encourages this at home. In line with this situation, the MOFCOM, in cooperation with other government branches, has released a series of measures. In order to create a favorable policy and legal environment, the MOFCOM has actively conducted bilateral negotiations with African countries on agreements to protect bilateral investment. Twenty-eight African countries have signed such agreements with China.

Moreover, the MOFCOM has enacted regulations on approval of investment in businesses overseas, in which procedures for companies investing in Africa are simplified. The MOFCOM has also completed the compilation of overseas investment environment evaluations and a national investment barrier report and publicized a directory of profitable industries to invest in different countries, so as to keep Chinese companies well-informed about risks and the approach to sound investment.

More and more Chinese companies have leapt forward onto the African continent since the inauguration of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. So far, the Chinese non-financial companies that invested in Africa under the sanction and registration of the MOFCOM have totaled over 800 and various investments from China to Africa have reached over $6 billion.

What results have been achieved under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation since its inauguration?

The first ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in October 2000 adopted the Program for China-Africa Cooperation in Economic and Social Development, which lists plans and measures in promoting trade and economic cooperation. After the conclusion of the meeting, both sides attached great importance to the implementation of this document. The Chinese Government founded an enforcement committee to implement China's commitments in foreign trade, investment, debt-reduction, projects cooperation and exploration of human resources. In the framework of this forum, China for the first time, wrote off over 10 billion yuan owed to it by the most heavily indebted and the poorest African countries. China has also earmarked capital to support credible Chinese companies to invest in Africa. A fund on human resources development in Africa has been set up to finance the training of professionals for African countries.