The Beijing Summit of the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has attracted scores of glowing media reports with commentators in many parts of the world praising China's approach to Africa.

The Italian Couriere dela Sierra said in a recent commentary that the FOCAC, attended by more than 40 state leaders from China and Africa, was a "summit of friendship and cooperation" that would have considerable influence on international relations.

China has turned her eyes to Africa in recent years and made herself an important balance keeper in international geo-politics, said the newspaper which boasts the largest circulation in Italy.

The Spanish La Vanguardia daily on Monday published an article titled "China consolidates status in Africa", praising China's "new style" in offering help to African countries. China gave the offers without criticism of other countries' development strategies, without additional trade conditions and without intervention in other countries' internal affairs.

The Sunday Times in South Africa cited a foreign ministry spokesman as saying that China is not only an important country with big market potential, mass population and rapidly developing economy, but also a major engine for South-South cooperation. Africa hopes China could play a crucial role in the politics and economy of the world, as well as in the reforms of global trade systems.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of the most influential newspapers in Germany, said on Monday that China had made it known that it was Africa's partner by signing a new cooperation agreement at the summit.

The African countries appreciated China's offers of financial loans and aid without imposing any political conditions, the paper said.

Deutsche Welle, Germany's major broadcasting station, said that Africa's five-percent economic growth last year should first of all be attributed to China, saying the country's opening up to Africa could not be branded a "new form of colonialism."

Quoting Prime Minister Idriss Jettou, the Moroccan News Agency said on Monday that the Beijing summit had achieved a comprehensive success.

Jettou praised the Chinese government for having made the important decision to enhance the Sino-African partnership by canceling some debts owed by the heavily indebted poor countries, pledging aid packages and establishing a special fund for encouraging investment in Africa, the agency said.

Morocco's main newspaper Le Matin on Monday quoted Moroccan King Mohammed VI's letter to the summit which said it was the time to inject new dynamics into the current Sino-African cooperation.

Standing together with China, Morocco would explore its potential to help develop the South Sahara African countries and promote the Sino-African cooperation, under the advantage of its unique geographical position.

In a series of news stories on the Sino-Africa summit, the Yemen News Agency emphasized that the summit had focused on "friendship, peace, co-operation and development", and was aimed at further strengthening political and economic relations between China and the African continent.

Benin's newspaper "Le Matinal" on Monday published an article saying that the summit had gratified all participants, and would add fresh vigor to the Sino-African friendship and trade relations.

A commentary headlined "New Frontiers of Sino-African Cooperation", which was carried on the first page of Mali's official daily "L'Essor", acknowledged that the rapid growth of China's economy strongly demonstrated that a poor country could get on a fast growth track if it had a wise and capable leadership, a patriotic and hardworking people, good governance and trained and skilled human resources.

The article said that China's development foretold a better tomorrow for Africa.

The Agence Presse Associee of Congo (DRC) commented on Monday that the summit not only demonstrated the significant rise of China's international status, but also provided the African countries with an opportunity to promote cooperative relations with the giant Asian country. The development of Africa would benefit from further development of the Sino-African friendship and cooperation relations, it added.

The speech made by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the summit suggested that "China is closer to Africa", and that strengthening its diplomatic relations and strategic cooperation with African countries would be among China's foreign policy priorities during the period of 2007-2010, said "Diario de Angola', a daily newspaper of Angola, on Sunday.

The two-day FOCAC summit, which has brought together leaders from 48 African countries, ended here on Sunday with the adoption of the Beijing Declaration on a "new type of strategic partnership" between China and Africa. It was the highest-level and the largest gathering of Chinese and African leaders since China and African countries started forging cooperative ties in the 1950s.