The strategic relationship between China and Africa would benefit
international community and should not be retorted, Ethiopian Foreign Minister
Seyoum Mesfin told a press conference here Sunday, following a two-day landmark
summit between Chinese and African leaders.
Seyoum said many of the western media reports on the Beijing Summit of the
Forum on China-Africa Cooperation were "negative and tainted".
He said it was "absolutely not true" to label African leaders attending the
summit as "dictators seeking new homeland in China" and "shunning their
responsibilities on human rights".
The Sino-African partnership is brand new and of strategic importance and
based on mutual respect and mutual responsibility, he added.
The relationship is "predictable" and comes without any political strings,
Seyoum said.
The new type of strategic partnership established by the Beijing Summit will
help Africa score success in fighting poverty and overcoming difficulties in
economic and social development, he said, adding it will also facilitate the
development of China.
The peaceful development of China and African Continent will surely benefit
the world, Seyoum said.
The press conference jointly held by foreign ministers of China, Ethiopia and
Egypt came after the summit adopted a historic declaration and an action plan
for 2007-2009 in an effort to facilitate China-Africa cooperation.