Xi Jinping, China’s president, has pledged $60bn for African development over the next three years while countering criticism that Beijing is trying to ensnare African governments in a debt trap.
At the start of the three-day triennial Forum on China-Africa Co-operation in Beijing, Mr Xi said China would not finance “vanity projects” but would concentrate on commercially viable, sustainable and green investments.
Speaking to representatives of 54 African countries — including several heads of state — in the Great Hall of the People, he said: “Only Chinese and African people have a say when judging if the co-operation is good or not between China and Africa. No one should malign it based on imagination or assumptions.”