Source: CCTV.com
02-12-2009 09:34
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Background Report:
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Intro:
Hello, very delighted to see you again on Dialogue. We are broadcasting live in Beijing. China's proactive diplomacy during the spring could be highlighted again by the on-going official visit of President Hu Jintao to Saudi Arabia and four other African nations, Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has just returned from Europe and vice president Xi Jinping is visiting Latin America to showcase China's interest in the emerging markets in times of crisis.
This year is critical for China-African relations since many of Beijing's commitments to the win-win bilateral trade and economic cooperation will have to be tested before the deadline expires this year. And the financial crisis has led to the suspensions of some mega projects in Africa. But observers point out that domestic politics in those host African countries may have conspired to undermine the efficiency and effectiveness of the Chinese investment.
Is that a kind of proxy war of trade since China pursues a different mode of assistance and shows defiance against rule of the Western game in a spirit of pragmatism? We are joined here by Mr. Hussein Ismail, an Egyptian correspondent in Beijing and Mr. Craig Bond, former CEO of Standard Bank Africa and CEO of Standard Bank China.
