Mugabe hails China

Mugabe hails China

GRAND: MUGABE

• Mugabe looks to China

• Mugabe pulls Zim out of C'nwealth

• Mugabe threatens to pull out

By Tsegaye Tadesse
15/12/03
ADDIS ABABA - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe urged Africa on Monday to forge closer ties with China and other Asian countries and shun the "brutal predominance" of the United States.

Mugabe, who stormed out of the Commonwealth earlier this month, was speaking at a China-Africa forum in Addis Ababa where Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promised to increase aid to the world's poorest continent.

"It is taking far too long for most of our business people to realise that the biggest world market, the fastest growing economies are in fact in the East, the largest being China," Mugabe said, hitting out at Western countries he said were "late-comers" to human civilisation cradled in Africa and China.

"China's politics have always been pro-Africa, pro-Third World, anti-imperial and anti-hegemonic," he said. "Historically the People's Republic of China has always been an alternative global power point."

He slammed the "brutal predominance of America, unconditionally supported by Britain, Australia and other nations of Europe recklessly seeking global hegemony under the convenient but false cover of good governance, human rights and democracy".

Mugabe withdrew from the Commonwealth this month after the 54-member group of mainly former British colonies meeting in Nigeria renewed Zimbabwe's suspension, demanding it reconcile with its opposition and respect human rights.

Zimbabwe is struggling with a deepening economic crisis that many blame on government mismanagement over the last 23 years but Mugabe says the turmoil is a result of sabotage by local and foreign opponents of his land reforms.

At the forum, China's Wen said his country would increase capital investment to the African Human Resources Development Fund by 33 percent, grant duty-free access for some African commodities, encourage tourism and train Africans.

He said China's own development problems limited what it could offer, but said there would be no political conditions.

"China and Africa together have more than one third of the world's population," he said. "China is the largest developing country, and Africa the largest developing continent.

"It is an unshakeable policy of the new Chinese government to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries and other developing nations."

Wen said the Chinese Government had fulfilled its debt exemption commitments ahead of schedule and cancelled 31 African countries' debts worth 10.5 billion yuan ($1.27 billion).

At least four African presidents attended the forum in Addis Ababa, along with high-level officials from most African states.
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