08 Sep 2024

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has hailed China-Africa relations as a joint vision for a shared future. 

Addressing Batswana citizens residing in China on Thursday, President Masisi commended both the Chinese government and its citizenry for being true friends to Botswana and Africa. 

“Never have I been informed of any ill-treatment of Batswana in China and the only time I heard of any ambush was during the COVID-19 pandemic during the evacuation of Batswana in China but that was successfully accomplished owing to the support and generosity of the Chinese government,” he said.

 President Masisi noted the growth of the bilateral relations between Botswana and China,  which he said, had also expanded to the entire African continent. 

“The relationship between China and African countries is a different proposition from what we are used to in terms of how the developed countries relate to the less developed states,” he said. 

He explained that China distinguished itself by seeking a partnership based on genuine equality and a commitment to shared prosperity.  

President Masisi said another major difference is China’s commitment to putting its money where its mouth is, through delivery of viable developmental financial pledges of grants. 

He said it was also commendable for China to seek to embrace African countries in growing their economies through committing to reject extractive punitive behaviour by enabling African countries to develop their value chains and value propositions. 

“China has realised the logic of not growing that fast but rather growing broader and seeking alliances, which is rewarding,” he said.  With China classified as a socialist country, President Masisi said it was gratifying that the state owned enterprises, which were efficient and entrepreneurial, were instructed to work with African countries in pursuit of delivering on the Belt and Road Initiative to connect communities through infrastructure development. 

Meanwhile, in his address during FOCAC 2024, the President Xi Jinping of China announced a pledge of over US$50 billion over the next three years in financial support to Africa. 

President Xi further pledged another US$280 million in aid to the African continent to be split evenly between military and food assistance and also pledged to create at least one million jobs for Africa in the next three years. ENDS