ChinaÔÇÖs premier, Wen Jiabao, has pledged $10 billion (Ôé¼6.6 billion) in low-cost loans to Africa over the next three years.
The pledge was made on Sunday at a Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and was double the $5 billion commitment made by China in 2006.
China was eager to stress that its ties to Africa goes deeper than its acquisition of raw materials from the resource-rich continent.
According to Jiabao, the money from the loans will be used to develop infrastructure and social programmes across Africa.
He said China will construct 100 new clean energy projects on the continent, as well as gradually lowering customs duties on 95 per cent of products from African states with which it has diplomatic ties.
Jiabao also said that China will write off the debt of some of the poorest African nations.
China has already built schools, hospitals and clinics throughout Africa, as well as offering scholarships for African citizens to study in China.
Trade between China and Africa rose by 45 per cent to $107 billion in 2008ÔÇöa tenfold increase since 2000, with the new loans expected to support continued expansion.
Direct investment in Africa has risen from Ôé¼327 million in 2003 to Ôé¼5.2 billion in 2008, according to official Chinese figures.
Since 2006, Chinese energy companies have announced plans to spend at least $16 billion on oil and gas fields in Africa.
Earlier this year, Beijing-based oil company Sinopec acquired Addax Petroleum Corp. for C$8.3 billion (Ôé¼5.2 billion), which gave it access to oil reserves in Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon.
Last year, China also agreed to invest $9 billion in Congolese infrastructure in return for control of mining deposits.
Chinese companies have already been active across the continent in the construction of roads, ports, railways, housing and oil pipelines.
FOCAC was founded by China in 2000, and has meetings every three years.
China has come under some criticism by leading figures and industry analysts for alleged exploitation of AfricaÔÇÖs rich resources and for only investing in the continent to further its own commodity and energy agenda.
However Jiabao, along with some African leaders, was quick to refute these allegations.
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