China's Xi pledges $51b support for Africa, promises one million jobs

 BEIJING: 

On Thursday, President Xi Jinping promised to increase China's assistance to debt-ridden Africa, including funding of approximately $51 billion over three years, support for further infrastructure projects, and the creation of a minimum of one million jobs.

Speaking to delegates from over 50 African countries gathering in Beijing for the three-yearly Forum on China-Africa collaboration Summit, Xi declared that China was prepared to increase its collaboration with Africa in the areas of industry, agriculture, infrastructure, commerce, and investment.



The populations of China and Africa make up one-third of the global population. Global modernization cannot exist without our modernization, according to Xi.

China, the largest bilateral lender in the world, declared that it would undertake three times as many infrastructure projects in resource-rich Africa, even in spite of Xi's declared new preference for "small and beautiful" projects that revolve around selling cutting-edge and environmentally friendly technologies, in which Chinese companies have made significant investments.

The Chinese president pledged 360 billion yuan ($50.70 billion) in financial support over three years, but he also stipulated that at least 70 billion in new investment from Chinese enterprises and 210 billion would be distributed through credit lines.



Smaller sums would come from other initiatives and military assistance.



China committed to investing at least $10 billion and providing credit lines totaling the same amount during the 2021 China-Africa summit in Dakar. This time, the funding would be provided in yuan, seemingly