Will he or will he not? As the world ponders whether Mahmoud Abbas will run in January's elections, China-Africa cooperation showed more certainty. Doaa El-Bey reviews the issues, the clear and not so clear The two-day forum on China-Africa cooperation, which opened in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday, caught attention. The banner headline of Al-Akhbar reported "Complete partnership between China and Africa to achieve peace and development". Al-Gomhuriya wrote "Mubarak: a new start to achieve Chinese and African ambitions in peace and development". From Al-Ahram : "Mubarak outlines 10 priorities for Chinese-African cooperation", and in Rose Al-Youssef "The union of yellow and black". The official daily Al-Gomhuriya described the forum as a comprehensive medium in the interest of Africa and the world. The newspaper's editorial said all African states are looking forward to the outcome of the forum because it would reflect positive steps towards boosting joint investment in production and services that the black continent needs. And that can only be achieved, as the edit added, by boosting cooperation on the bilateral and continental levels, fighting any attempts to marginalise Africa and providing an example for fruitful cooperation that is free of exploitation of any one party. Thus, the outcome so far is marvellous: the value of trade exchange between Africa and China reached $100 billion. "It seems that major responsibilities await the economic community in dealing with the repercussions of the financial crisis and dealing with food and energy crises. Africa is still a virgin continent awaiting fair investment for the interest of its peoples and that of the international community," the edit said. Attiya Eissawi regarded the forum as an opportunity for African states. He hoped they would seize the opportunity to attract more Chinese investment to improve their deteriorating economies without making concessions in the value of the raw materials they provide. He also warned African leaders from engaging in investment with China in order to escape fighting corruption, establishing democratic societies and ending their internal conflicts. Eissawi wrote in the official daily Al-Ahram that the forum focussed on ways to boost cooperation and partnership in agriculture and infrastructure; and that these could be very useful fields in light of the deteriorating infrastructure and agricultural productions on the continent. "If the continent's water resources and fertile lands are used properly, it would produce enough food for the world and it would be saved from starvation," he added. However, Eissawi expressed dissatisfaction with the volume of Egyptian-Chinese trade exchange: LE4.7 billion, LE4.4 billion of which is the size of China's exports to Egypt and the remaining Egypt's exports to China. That rate according to Eissawi is too small given the status of the two states and their long-standing relations. Mohamed El-Hawari focussed on the role Egypt could play via the forum. He wrote that its importance was not only in attracting Chinese investment to Egypt but also in providing opportunities to establish joint African-Egyptian projects in African states. El-Hawari noticed that most major economies -- Japan and in Europe and Latin America -- are heading to investment in Africa by way of Egypt. Thus, he concluded that we should improve our relationship with African states. "Egypt should increase its ministerial visits to African states to strengthen ties with these states and open windows for Egyptian investment and trade," El-Hawari wrote in the official daily Al-Akhbar. The quick and ferocious attack from swine flu led to the closure of many classes as well as schools and left parents reeling. The Al-Ahram editorial said time had proven the credibility and importance of the plans drawn up by the Ministry of Health to battle H1N1. As expected, the number of swine flu cases is on the rise especially among school students, which led the Ministry of Education to reduce the curricula to ease the effect of shortening the school year and classes. "Over the coming days the situation will require more coordination between the ministries of health and education to combat the spread of the epidemic among students, especially with the advent of winter and the return of the pilgrims. It is also necessary to avoid the mistakes which are said to be happening in hospitals and improve their ability to rapidly detect and treat the disease," the edit read. Bahaaeddin Abu Shuqqa appealed to officials to close schools down. He wrote that in spite of the increasing number of cases, the closure of classes and schools that left the education process in havoc and the panic that has overwhelmed all Egyptian families, officials insist on keeping schools open. Abu Shuqqa asked whether the educational standard of the Egyptian student would be affected if schools close for two or three months. He responded that the standard would not be affected even if the whole year is cancelled because education experts agree that the long curricula that crams the minds of students every year can be given in three rather than nine months if taught properly. "Isn't it right to postpone schools for the sake of the Egyptian family which is suffering from daily problems more than any family in a developed or developing country?" Abu Shuqqa asked in the daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the opposition Wafd Party. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statements in Tel Aviv and Cairo caused confusion for many observers and writers including Iman Anwar who asked in the official weekly Akhbar Al-Yom which comments to believe: what she announced in Cairo or what she said three days earlier in Israel that freezing Israeli settlements is not a condition for restarting Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. In addition, she praised Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for limiting settlement construction. She then declared in a joint press conference with her Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul-Gheit in Cairo that Washington's position regarding the rejection of settlement building had not changed, and that it was preferable to end all forms of current and future Israeli settlement. She even increased the optimistic tone by saying that the US is committed to building a state embodying the aspirations of the Palestinian people within the pre-1967 boundaries. "Between the assurances she gave in Cairo and reneging on American promises in Israel, is America again losing its credibility in the eyes of Arab states?" Anwar asked. In a speech, US President Barack Obama stated he supported an independent Palestinian state and asked Israel to abide by the roadmap, stop settlement construction, dissolve illegal settlements and ease the suffering of the Palestinians. However, these were mere statements that were not translated into action on the ground, Anwar added.
