MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – China will increase its financial aid to African countries by up to $12 billion, the Xinhua news agency has reported.
Speaking at the Organization of African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said China will increase credit lines to Africa by $10 billion and will boost the China-Africa Development Fund (CAD Fund) by $2 billion, bringing it to a total of $5 billion, according to the Xinhua news agency.
Beijing also offered to share advance technology to help Africans develop high-speed railways.
Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping travelled to Africa and renewed an offer of $20 billion in loans over the next two years. Li said the new $10 billion credit line would be on top of the existing $20 billion already offered. The Chinese Premier also offered Africa $100 million in aid for wildlife protection.
Sino-African trade cooperation is facilitated by the CAD Fund, established in 2007 as a measure to strengthen relations. The initial funding totaled $1 billion, before rising to $2 billion in 2010.
China has been heavily investing in Africa over the past decade. The CAD Fund aims to support Chinese companies in developing cooperation with Africa and entering the African market. According to its website, the CAD Fund is the first of its kind focused specially on investing to Africa with the biggest scale among PE funds.
