US must be objective, rational on China-Africa investment: FM

The United States needs to reconsider its attitude to Chinese investment in Africa, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday, after U.S. President Barack Obama claimed his country would be a better partner for Africa than China.

"We hope the United States, the largest developed country in the world, can play a greater role in supporting the development of African nations," the spokeswoman added, urging it to look at China's development and investment in Africa in an objective and rational manner.

Obama argued during the US-Africa Leaders Summit that his administration has a long-term interest in Africa's success and is not simply seeking to extract resources for its own purposes.

But Hua retorted that China has a stable history of cooperation with Africa. As a developing country, China has provided assistance to Africa within its capacity and cooperated on a mutually beneficial basis with African countries, she said.

China's investment has played a positive role in Africa in improving social and economic development, strengthening self-development capacity, improving people's livelihood and eradicating poverty, according to the spokeswoman.

"China's African policy has always featured sincerity, friendship, equal treatment, mutual benefit and common development," Hua said. "This is the fundamental reason why China-Africa cooperation is welcomed by African countries and people."