Emerging Powers news roundup

A. FOCAC NEWS

1. Declaration of Sharm El Sheikh of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
For the purpose of “deepening the new type of China-Africa Strategic Partnership for sustainable development” on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, reviewed with satisfaction the implementation of the follow-up actions to the Beijing Summit of the Forum, and agreed that the set goals had been accomplished.
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2. FORUM ON CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION SHARM EL SHEIKH ACTION PLAN(2010-2012)
In keeping with the purposes of deepening the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership to seek sustainable development, and in order to implement the outcomes of the conference and chart the course for cooperation in all fields in the next three years, the two sides jointly worked out and adopted this Action Plan.
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3. Chinese premier pledges funds, aid to Africa - by Nampa-AP
China’s premier pledged US$10 billion in low interest loans to African nations over the next three years and said Beijing would cancel the government debts of some of the poorest of those countries.
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4. Ellen: Development Impacted By China AS China Pledges US$10bn Aid To Africa
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says Liberia’s development has been greatly impacted by the measures implemented by China under the China-Africa Cooperation initiative, as China has pledged US$10 billion in concessional loans to Africa.
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B. Development Needs

1. Africa needs to spend US$ 93 billion per year on Infrastructure
A new study by the World Bank says sub-Saharan Africa needs to spend US$ 93 billion per year on infrastructure to maintain growth - equivalent to about 15% of GDP.
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2. Africa needs R600bn a year for infrastructure – OECD
African countries need to invest $80 billion (R594bn) a year in infrastructure for the next 15 years if the continent is to catch up with development in Latin America and Asia, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
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3. Chinese commerce minister sees brilliant future of China-Africa trade co-op
The economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa is brilliant in the near future, said Chen Deming, Chinese minister of commerce, when commenting on the just-concluded ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
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4. President praises China for support
President Kibaki on Tuesday saluted the Chinese Government for supporting infrastructure development in the country.
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5. Africa needs China
The African continent's biggest banking group, Standard Bank, announced that it supports the new and enhanced initiatives announced at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) and remains committed to ensuring that the opportunities arising from the China-Africa cooperation are beneficial for all parties.
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C. Corporate Activities

1. CDB opens first Egypt office
China Development Bank (CDB), the State-run bank for public works projects, opened its first representative office in Egypt's capital Cairo Tuesday after more than one year of preparations.
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2. China’s Premier Visits Huawei’s Regional Training Center in Egypt
Premier Wen Jiabao officiated the inauguration of Huawei’s new Training Center in MENA region, located at Smart Village Cairo, Egypt’s prime technology cluster and Business Park, in Cairo.
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D. Agricultural Issues

1. SPECIAL REPORT-Is Africa selling out its farmers?
With memories of Ethiopia's devastating 1984 famine still fresh in the minds of its leaders, the government has been enticing well-heeled foreigners to invest in the nation's underperforming agriculture sector. It is part of an economic development push they say will help the Horn of Africa nation ensure it has enough food for its 80 million people.Yet Ethiopian farmers do not share their leaders' enthusiasm for the policy, eyeing the outsiders with a suspicion that has crept across Africa as millions of hectares have been placed, with varying degrees of transparency, in foreign hands.
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2. U.N. Probes rich states’ ‘African land grab’
Fifty heads of state will meet in Rome Sunday to examine the way that rich Middle Eastern and Asian states are buying up vast tracts of farmland in Africa, often secretly, in what is seen as a massive land grab that will worsen conditions in the world's hungriest continent.
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3. 4. China's Farming Ambitions Take Shape
China is sending its farming expertise to Mozambique in a drive to increase the African country's agricultural productivity.
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E. Trade and Investment
1. China buys Zimbabwe prison
A Chinese firm bought a prison in Zimbabwe to convert the facility into a manufacturing plant.
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2. Global Sources' China Sourcing Fairs expand to South Africa in 2010
Global Sources announced that South Africa will be the newest location for its expanding series of China Sourcing Fairs to be held in December 2010.
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3. China grants $349m for Ethiopia’s road construction
China has signed a 349 million US Dollar loan to Ethiopia to finance the horn of Africa’s nation first modern highway road project.
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4. Guinea's Chinese mining accord - deal or no deal?
A reported $7 billion deal between Guinea and China Investment Fund (CIF) has left Guinean government officials in the dark and foreign diplomats worried the ruling junta could use the cash to ride out sanctions.
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5. China extends tax exemption to products from Africa
China is to extend zero tariff treatment to 95 per cent of products from the least developed countries in Africa as it wrestles with the United States and the European market for clout.
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6. 'Made in China' now made in Egypt
With cheap labour, investment incentives and unrestricted exports, one Chinese textile group has turned to Egypt as an ideal location to produce its ready-made garments, beating stiff competition at home.
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F. Opinions, Rivalries and Cooperation
1. What China’s $10 billion means for Africa
Economists and analysts have long viewed China’s efforts in Africa as a way of garnering political and cultural support vis-a-vis Western nations who still view Beijing skeptically, but one Chinese official told Bikya Masr that these efforts are mainly economical, not political.
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2. China wants a lead role in fight against Somali pirates
China wants to take a lead role in anti-piracy operations off the Somalia coast, underscoring Beijing's desire for greater influence in Africa's affairs and global diplomacy.
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3. Emerging Powers: India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) and the Future of South-South Cooperation
Due to the current trends of political and economic restructuring, South-South cooperation is expected to play an increasingly important role in the post-recession world. India, Brazil, and South Africa (IBSA) established a dialogue forum to increase multilateral collaboration on a number of issues, especially those relating to development.
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS
* * Sanusha Naidu is the research director of Fahamu’s China in Africa Programme, based in Cape Town and Oxford.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at Pambazuka News.