China to implement 8 major initiatives with African countries

President Xi Jinping on Monday said China will implement eight major initiatives with African countries in the next three years and beyond.

Xi made the announcement in a keynote speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

He said the initiatives, cover fields such as industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, and green development.

He also said that China will exempt certain African countries from outstanding debts incurred in the form of interest-free Chinese government loans due by the end of 2018.

The exemption, he said, will be granted to Africa’s least developed countries, heavily indebted and poor countries, landlocked and small island developing countries that have diplomatic relations with China.