China embarks on poverty reduction in Africa

SEEPHEEPHE MAHAO

MASERU – In an effort to eliminate poverty in Africa, China has implemented a programme for Strengthening Co-operation on Poverty Reduction.

Among the 10 co-operation plans of the nine programmes of China Africa Co-operation, poverty reduction has always been an important part.

This was said by China’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian on Monday this week.

This is in line with a vision to develop mankind in general and common aspirations of the African people.

Jian said: “Over the years, under the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests, we have made active effort to implement the Programme for Strengthening Co-operation on Poverty Reduction between China and the African Union, and carried out poverty reduction exchanges and co-operation under the framework of Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC), which produced remarkable results.”

He said this after recent claims that there has been a lot of attention on China-Africa poverty reduction co-operation among African media and scholars, who think China-Africa co-operation brings new hope to Africa for realising food self-sufficiency, poverty reduction and a better life.

Studies show that under the poverty reduction and agricultural development programme, China has set up and implemented 47 poverty reduction and agricultural projects, trained close to 9,000 agricultural personnel, shared over 300 advanced and applicable technologies, and benefited over one million smallholders in Africa.

China’s Juncao technology has enabled hundreds of thousands of local people to increase their income. China’s hybrid rice has helped increase the rice yields in many African countries from an average of two tonnes to 7.5 tonnes per hectare. Chinese experts are setting up demonstration villages of rice cultivation for poverty alleviation to help realise the dream that “every mouth has food and every pocket has money.”

The agricultural co-operation parks and agricultural products processing plants set up by Chinese companies added much value to local agricultural products.

China also opened “green lanes” for African agricultural products which allowed the import of a number of quality African agricultural products to China.

Under the initiative of “100 Companies in 1,000 Villages” Chinese companies in Africa rolled out 320 corporate social responsibility projects, benefiting over 10,000 villages and communities. China has also held several seminars on poverty reduction and development for African officials to share our experience in poverty reduction.

China-Africa co-operation also helps countries on the African continent advance the industrialisation process and better stand on their own feet in economic growth.

Nigeria’s Lekki Free Trade Zone, the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Co-operation Zone, and other co-operation zones, which have the investment from China, make African countries a much stronger magnet for foreign investment, and formed industry clusters that took “Made in Africa” worldwide. China has also set up 17 Luban Workshops in 15 African countries, which improved local employment.

China is always a staunch supporter in Africa’s exploration of new paths to modernisation and an important contributor to Africa’s effort to find new ways of poverty alleviation. We stand ready to continue working with Africa at the upcoming 2024 FOCAC Summit to advance poverty alleviation and create a brighter future for the African people.