More than 50 African leaders and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are attending the China-Africa forum, according to state media.
African leaders already secured a plethora of deals this week for greater cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, mining, trade and energy.
Xi hailed ties with Africa as their "best period in history" as he addressed the leaders at the forum's opening ceremony in Beijing's ornate Great Hall of the People on Thursday.
"China is ready to deepen cooperation with African countries in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment," he said.
"Over the next three years, the Chinese government is willing to provide financial support amounting to 360 billion yuan ($50.7 billion)," Xi said.
More than half of that will be in credit, he said, with $11 billion "in various types of assistance" as well as $10 billion through encouraging Chinese firms to invest.
He also promised to help "create at least one million jobs for Africa".
Xi pledged $141 million in grants for military assistance, saying Beijing would "provide training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police and law enforcement officers from Africa".
Guterres told the forum that growing ties between China and Africa could "drive the renewable energy revolution".
"China's remarkable record of development -- including on eradicating poverty -- provides a wealth of experience and expertise," he said.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi hailed the summit as a "complete success" at a joint news conference with his Senegalese and Congolese counterparts later on Thursday.
"When China stands shoulder to shoulder alongside (its) African strategic partners, we will inevitably play a greater role in promoting prosperity for the peoples of China and Africa, and in upholding global peace and stability," Wang said.
Congo's Jean-Claude Gakosso described China-Africa relations as "exceptional".
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa lauded China's $50 billion pledge as a "great boon" for Africa.
- Deals and pledges -
China, the world's number two economy, is Africa's largest trading partner and has sought to tap the continent's vast troves of natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.
It has also furnished African countries with billions in loans that have helped build much-needed infrastructure but have sometimes stoked controversy by saddling governments with huge debts.
Analysts say that Beijing's largesse towards Africa is being recalibrated in the face of economic trouble at home and that geopolitical concerns over a growing tussle with the United States may increasingly be driving policy.
Bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the summit delivered a slew of pledges on greater cooperation in projects from railways to solar panels and avocados.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said after meetings on Wednesday he had overseen a deal between his country's state-owned power company ZESCO and Beijing's PowerChina to expand the use of rooftop solar panels.
China and Nigeria -- one of Beijing's biggest debtors in Africa -- signed an agreement to "deepen cooperation" in infrastructure, including "transportation, ports and free trade zones".
- Expanding transport links -
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan obtained a commitment from Xi to push for new progress on a long-stalled railway connecting his country to neighbouring Zambia.
That project -- towards which Zambian media says Beijing has pledged $1 billion -- is aimed at expanding transport links in the resource-rich eastern part of the continent.
Zimbabwe also won promises from Beijing for deeper cooperation in "agriculture, mining, environmentally friendly traditional and new energy (and) transportation infrastructure", according to a joint statement.
The southern African nation and Beijing also agreed to sign a deal that would allow the export of fresh Zimbabwean avocados to China, it said.
Kenyan leader William Ruto said Xi had also promised to open up China's markets to agricultural products from his country.
The two sides agreed to work together on the expansion of Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway, which connects the capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa and was built with finance from Exim Bank of China.
Ruto also secured a pledge for greater cooperation with China on the Rironi-Mau Summit-Malaba motorway, which Kenyan media has said is expected to cost $1.2 billion.
Ruto asked China last year for a $1 billion loan and the restructuring of existing debt to complete other stalled construction projects. Kenya now owes China more than $8 billion.
S. Africa's Ramaphosa hails China's $50 bn pledge as 'great boon' for continent
Beijing (AFP) Sept 5, 2024 -
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called Chinese leader Xi Jinping's pledge on Thursday of $50 billion in financing to Africa over the next three years a "great boon" for the continent.
"I am very positively disposed to the amount of money Xi announced today. I think it will be a great boon to the African continent," he told a news conference in Beijing during a state visit that included attending the China-Africa forum.
Xi earlier told leaders from more than 50 African nations that the Chinese government was willing to provide financial support amounting to 360 billion yuan ($50.7 billion) over the next three years.
More than half of that will be in credit, he said, with $11 billion "in various types of assistance" as well as $10 billion through encouraging Chinese firms to invest.
Visiting African leaders secured a plethora of deals this week for greater cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, mining, trade and energy in talks around the three-day summit that wraps up Friday.
"As the most industrialised country on the African continent, South Africa stands to benefit immensely from this relationship," Ramaphosa said.
China has been accused of saddling countries with huge debts as it seeks to grow its influence on the world stage, including its vast Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
Asked about the risk of China pulling African countries into debt, Ramaphosa said: "I don't necessarily buy in the notion that when China invests, it is with an intention of, in the end, ensuring that those countries end up in a debt trap."
"I don't subscribe and believe that it's a relationship that is oppressive, that is ... neocolonial.
"It should be seen as a mutually beneficial relationship that is based on recognition, respect, and also of advancing each country's own development.
"China is much more focused on the development of countries on our continent," he said.
Ramaphosa said of the yawning trade imbalance between China and Africa that Xi had told him he wanted to see "more goods in China from South Africa".
"To this end, he has even opened up voluntarily the Chinese market for African countries to come and exploit this Chinese market," Ramaphosa told journalists.
Key pledges on sidelines of China-Africa summit
Beijing (AFP) Sept 5, 2024 -
African leaders secured a wide range of commitments to enhance cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, mining, trade, and energy at China's largest summit in years.
Bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Africa-China forum in Beijing this week have seen deals on projects including development, solar power and farming.
AFP takes a look at the deals thrashed out during the summit:
- Kenyan infrastructure -
Kenyan leader William Ruto said the two sides had agreed to work together on the expansion of his country's Standard Gauge Railway -- financed by Exim Bank of China -- which connects the capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa.
Ruto also secured a pledge from China for greater cooperation on the Rironi-Mau Summit-Malaba motorway, which Kenyan media has said is expected to cost $1.2 billion.
Last year, Ruto asked China for a $1 billion loan and the restructuring of existing debt to complete other stalled construction projects.
Kenya now owes China more than $8 billion.
Xi also promised to open up China's markets to agricultural products from Kenya, Ruto added.
- Zimbabwean avocados -
Zimbabwe secured a deal that would allow the export of fresh avocados to China, a joint statement between the two countries said, joining other African countries like Kenya and South Africa which have similar agreements.
The southern African nation also won promises from Beijing for deeper cooperation in "agriculture, mining, environmentally friendly traditional and new energy (and) transportation infrastructure", according to a joint statement by the two countries.
China will also support upgrades to Zimbabwe's industry and encourage more "competitive" Chinese enterprises to invest in the country, the statement said.
- Tanzanian railways -
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan obtained a commitment from Xi to push for new progress on a long-stalled railway connecting his country to neighbouring Zambia.
China, Tanzania and Zambia on Wednesday signed an agreement to rehabilitate the decades-old Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority project, or TAZARA.
That project -- which Zambian media has said China has pledged $1 billion towards -- is aimed at expanding transport links in the resource-rich eastern part of the continent.
- Zambian solar power -
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said he had overseen a deal between the country's state-owned power company ZESCO and Beijing's PowerChina to expand the use of rooftop solar panels in his country.
The agreement consists of the supply, delivery and installation of the solar panels which will help address the "current energy deficit" caused by drought in the country, Hichilema said in a Facebook post.
- Nigerian trade -
China and Nigeria agreed to expand a "flexible and diverse" regional monetary and financial partnership, including local currency swaps, to promote trade.
They will also collaborate on intelligence efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, according to a joint statement.
The two countries also agreed to "deepen cooperation" in infrastructure, including "transportation, ports and free trade zones".
China said it supports importing more "quality" Nigerian products and said it would encourage more local companies to invest in the African country.
Nigeria also struck deals on exporting peanuts and nuclear energy.
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