China’s Xi signs deals in Rwanda on whirlwind tour

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Rwandan President Paul Kagame attend a media briefing in Kigali on Monday.

PHOTO | AFP


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Among the deals agreed, the value of which was not revealed, were loans for road construction, hospital renovation and the development of Rwanda’s new Bugesera airport.

Kigali. China’s President Xi Jinping inked 15 deals including loans and grants worth millions of dollars with Rwanda on Monday as part of a whistlestop tour to cement relations with African allies.

Among the deals agreed, the value of which was not revealed, were loans for road construction, hospital renovation and the development of Rwanda’s new Bugesera airport.

As part of his first overseas trip since being re-elected in March, Xi last week visited Senegal to conclude a raft of trade accords. He will head to Johannesburg on Tuesday for a summit of the BRICS emerging economies -- Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa.

Since taking office, Xi has overseen efforts to expand Chinese influence in Africa. China has already provided vast sums to the continent with Beijing’s financial largesse raising fears that poor nations are unprepared for such massive debts. “We are bound with common interest. To grow our solidarity with Africa is an important foundation for China’s foreign policy,” said Xi at a media conference where no questions were taken.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame added that the agreements showed “what is possible between our two countries”.

Rwanda, which is one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, had trade with China worth $157 million (134 million euros) in 2017, making Beijing one of Kigali’s largest trade partners.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also set to arrive in Kigali on Monday on his own five-day African tour which will also take him to Uganda before he heads to the BRICS summit.

Last Saturday, President Xi inked a clutch of trade accords Saturday on the first visit by a Chinese leader to Senegal in almost a decade.

Senegalese President Macky Sall welcomed his counterpart to Dakar for afternoon talks before Xi continues a tour of the region Sunday, heading to Rwanda, then South Africa on Tuesday ahead of a BRICs summit of developing nations starting Wednesday.

Although details of the accords signed were not immediately forthcoming, Sall told reporters both leaders held talks on “bilateral cooperation, Sino-African relations and international current affairs”, hailing China as “one of the great economies of the modern era.”

He said China’s progress along the development path was a “message of hope” showing that “under-development is not fatal and the battle for progress is above all won by (having) a combative spirit.”

Xi responded in kind, telling Sall: “Every time I come to Africa I can measure the great dynamism of this continent.”

He added he had great faith in the future of Beijing’s cooperation with its African partners as it becomes a primary investor on the continent. (AFP)