Ghanaian President John Kufuor said here on Wednesday that he expected that
as leaders from some 40 African countries converge in Beijing with Chinese
leaders early next month, they will discuss how to explore tremendous business
opportunities for mutual benefits,
They will focus on key issues including trade, technology transfer and
investment during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
(FOCAC) from Nov. 3-5, Kufuor said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
"It (The conference) will be very significant because .. we will talk openly
and frankly to each other, with a view to explore better chances of getting
benefits both on the African side and on the Chinese side," said Kufuor, who
will attend the summit, the highest-level and largest-scale meeting between
Chinese and African leaders since China and African countries started to forge
cooperative ties in the 1950s.
He said trade would be a big issue during the conference because the World
Trade Organization (WTO) talks had not been advanced in protecting economic
development and benefits of developing countries.
With China emerging as a world economic power, African countries "definitely"
want to explore China-Africa trade possibilities, Kufuor said.
"China should buy from Africa and Africa should buy from China ..I'm talking
about the win-win," he said.
Kufuor said the conference in Beijing would also look at the transfer of
technology and expertise that are urgently needed by African countries for
social and economic development.
"We want Chinese people not only come to (Africa to) trade, but also bring
know-how technology, as well as capital, to share with us on the win-win base,"
he said while mentioning rapid growth of bilateral trade between the two
countries.
Official statistics of Ghana showed that Chinese businesses have invested in
the west African nation's manufacturing, service industry, tourism, construction
and agriculture sectors by March 2006, ranking the eighth among foreign
investors in Ghana in terms of investment volume.
The Beijing Summit will be held against the backdrop that China and Africa
have constantly developed their relations over the past years. China released
its first African policy paper early this year, putting forward its proposals
for all-round cooperation with Africa in various fields in the coming years.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao visited 10 African
countries in April and June this year respectively.