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Ethiopian FM: China-Africa relationship should not be "tainted"
6/11/2006 10:53

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.



Xinhua News