Dina Ezzat, in Beijing, reports on the Egyptian president's visit to the Chinese capital and reactions to a reinvigorated Sino-African partnership To mark the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of diplomatic relations between China and Africa, Beijing hosted the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). President Hosni Mubarak's decision to participate in the summit -- a mission the foreign minister would normally undertake -- as well as the bilateral talks he held with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, on the fringe, raised expectations that Egypt was seeking Chinese cooperation over issues of common interest, including Egypt's plans to revive its peaceful nuclear programme suspended since 1986. Those expectations were confirmed yesterday when the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that China and Egypt had agreed to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The agreement, Xinhua said, was announced in a joint communiqué following talks on Tuesday between Mubarak and Hu Jintao. President Mubarak told Egyptian editors-in-chief accompanying him on his three-leg tour to Russia, China and Kazakhstan that all three countries had agreed to cooperate with Egypt on its peaceful nuclear programme but "we need first to investigate all the technical and financial aspects of the project in order that it proceed on a sound scientific base." He also said that Egypt will invite all concerned parties to participate in an open tender for the construction of a nuclear reactor. The Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was hailed as the beginning of "a new type of partnership" governed by egalitarianism and the pursuit of mutual benefits. But the two-day conference that brought together the Chinese president and 48 African leaders in Beijing this week raised as many questions over future relations between the Asian giant and Africa as it provided answers. The Beijing declaration, read out on Sunday by Chinese President Hu Jintao, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and President Hosni Mubarak -- the FOCAC's current, former and future chairs -- is an ambitious call for friendship, solidarity and cooperation. Beijing, said Jintao at the summit's opening on Saturday, will double aid to Africa by 2009. The offer of aid, described as generous by many African leaders, comes within the framework of political equality, mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchange outlined in Beijing's policy paper "China's Africa Policy". The need to boost China- Africa trade to $100 billion by 2010, increase cooperation in investment and upgrade the level of assistance to Africa are among the paper's avowed goals. China is rapidly becoming a major investor in Africa. In 2004 it invested US$900 million in the continent, more than 300 per cent up on the previous year. It has concluded agreements with 28 African countries to protect investments as well as signing preferential tax agreements with eight African states. The 15-page Beijing plan of action, which outlines cooperation between Africa and China up to 2009, specifies agriculture, investment and business, trade, finance, science and technology as likely areas for future cooperation. This historic revival of South-South cooperation has been hailed by both participants and the organiser of the summit. Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing stressed that his country was dealing with African participants on the basis of mutual respect and shared interest as stipulated both in the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing Plan of Action. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Chinese and Ethiopian counterparts Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit said that he had "witnessed no sign of colonisation," in dealings with China, while Ethiopia's foreign minister insisted "we should not allow the Western media to promote negative Western views about our cooperation which [promotes] the values of South-South cooperation." UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's office welcomed China's announcement, saying in a statement that "the secretary- general believes that, as Africans demonstrate renewed resolve to address the challenges confronting their continent, they can benefit greatly from the experience of their friends in China, who have had such success in sustaining growth and reducing poverty." Critics, though, see a potential for a new type of colonialism in the alliance. Human rights groups point out that the new partnership offers Africa's mostly undemocratic leaders access to generous financial assistance without any commitment to good governance or recognition of human rights. Some Chinese political activists also point out that Beijing's diplomatic drive excludes African countries that do not recognise China's claims over Taiwan: Gambia, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Swaziland and S�o Tomé and Pr�ncipe, which recognise Taiwan, were noticeably absent from the summit. Concern has also been expressed about the long-term economic consequences of Chinese attempts to bolster its influence across the under-developed but resource-rich continent. Over the past 20 years China has gone from being Asia's largest oil exporter to becoming the world's second largest oil importer. China has recently signed major oil contracts with several African countries, and cooperation in exploiting energy and other natural resources is central to Chinese plans. Striking a note of realism and political pragmatism, President Mubarak stressed that this new partnership must be approached with one eye fixed on mutual benefits. Speaking at a roundtable discussion held as part of the two-day summit Mubarak argued that China and African countries must reach a middle ground formula of mutual interest. He underlined the positive role China could play in promoting peace and stability in Africa and the positive impact of this on Beijing's future relations with the continent. "We are pursuing common goals and aims that are best summed up by the slogan that we chose for this summit -- friendship, peace, cooperation and development," said Mubarak. "We must remember that we still have a long way to go before peace -- a pre-requisite for prosperity and cooperation -- can be achieved in Africa and the Middle East," he added. Off the record, Chinese diplomats acknowledged the concern in some Western capitals, especially Washington, London and Paris, over Beijing's expanding role. They insist that their country is not trying to exclude other powers but is augmenting its own role in a multi-polar world no longer dominated by Western powers. Addressing the Beijing Summit, the current chair of the African Union, Denis Sassou-N'Guesso, argued the new Sino- African partnership sends a clear message about the rising power of "the idea of multilateralism". FOCAC was established in 2000. The next FOCAC ministerial is to be hosted by Egypt in 2009. (see pp.2&11)
