China in Africa: Political or Economic Interest?

china's growing involvement in africa has been actively commented upon over the last few months. However, as soon as 1996, President Jiang Zemin stated he wanted 'a new relationship' with africa, based on five points: reliable friendship, sovereignty equality, non-intervention, mutual beneficial development and international cooperation . Ever since 2001 and china's entry in the WTO , the Chinese growth has reached an impressive double-digit figure, and the need to secure raw material to support its tremendous growth has become more urgent. It was decided that 2006 would be the year of africa in china. At the beginning of the year, President Ju Jutao paid a visit to some African countries for a week, the second tour he took since the he became president three years ago. Historic Summit' Last November, the will to get closer reached his climax with the organisation of a summit meant to design the New Action plan for 2007-2008 gathering 48 heads of states representing 41 countries in china, which received an exceptional welcome .