Envoy to Zimbabwe defends China-Africa relations

Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Lin Lin on Tuesday defended China-Africa relations against baseless Western criticism.

"There are always people observing China-Africa relations through colored glasses with the Cold War mentality, posing groundless criticism and attacks against China-Africa cooperation, " Lin told about 40 scholars attending an academic symposium on China-Africa relations organized by Southern African Research and Documentation Center.

"Such practices have disturbed the sound and stable development momentum of China-Africa cooperation," Lin said. "The relationship is solidly based on friendship and cooperation and remains on the top agenda of our leadership."

Lin, who was formerly the ambassador to Ethiopia, said for example there were a lot of Chinese-invested projects in Ethiopia, a country without much resources and does not face Western sanctions like Zimbabwe.

"Some people say China only invests in minerals and oil rich countries, but Ethiopia has neither of them," Lin said.

In Zimbabwe, China has been the main source of foreign investments to the country. Last year, Chinese investment accounted for 72 percent of the more than 900 million US dollars foreign invested-projects approved by the Zimbabwe Investment Authority.

The envoy also brushed off the allegation that China pushes for investments in Africa to solve its own unemployment.

"Today, you may find Chinese companies everywhere in Africa, but it is not a government strategy to solve unemployment. The Chinese government creates a lot of jobs for its people, and we don't have to send people to Africa to find jobs," he added.

China-Africa relations developed to new highs after the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was established by Chinese and African leaders at their inaugural summit in 2000 to chart a new type of strategic partnership. Bilateral trade surged, foreign direct investment grew, and cooperation in health, agriculture, and many other fields achieved breakthroughs.