中國在非洲支出大額經濟援助

Late last month the Mainichi News on-line reported the following:
中国政府が総工費２億ドル（約１５３億円）を拠出したアフリカ連合（ＡＵ）の新本部施設がエチオピアの首都アディスアベバに完成し、２８日に落成式が開かれた。中国メディアが２９日、伝えた。
　新施設は２５００人収容の会議場と２０階建てのビルから成り、建築面積は約５万平方メートルと東京ドームがすっぽり入る。落成式には中国共産党ナンバー４の賈慶林全国政治協商会議主席が出席し、「（施設は）中国からアフリカへの贈り物」とあいさつした。
　賈主席は、ジャン・ピンＡＵ委員長と会談した際、今後３年間でＡＵに６億元（約７３億円）の無償援助を提供することも表明した。
　中国のアフリカとの関係強化は資源確保が目的との見方が強い。だが、中国外務省は「資源協力はアフリカ政策の出発点というわけではなく、関係国の自主発展に向けた支援をしている」（劉為民報道局参事官）と強調している。
　巨額のアフリカ支援に対し、中国のインターネット上では「自国内の貧困問題を解決する方が先」と批判する書き込みが多いが「アフリカは経済、軍事、外交のいずれの分野でも戦略的意義が大きい」といった肯定的な意見もある。
(試譯文)
The new headquarters of the African Union (AU) which the Chinese government had paid for a total construction cost of 200 million dollars (about 15,300 million yen) was completed in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia; the inauguration ceremony was held on the 28th. The China media reported that on the 29th.
The new facilities consisted of a conference hall that could accommodate 2500 people, and a 20 stories building with a total building area of about 50,000 square meters that could take in the TOKYO DOME entirely.
Jia Qinglin the president of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who was the number four man of the Chinese Communist Party of China attended the inauguration ceremony; and when he greeted with the AU's Chair Jean Ping, he said "it was (the facilities) a present from China to Africa".
When Chairman Jia conferred with Chair Jean Pin of the AU, he expressed that AU would be provided with 600 million yuan (about 7,300 million yen) free grants-in-aid in the coming three years.

It was strongly viewed that China was having the purpose of strengthening ties with Africa in order to ensure the supply of resources. Liu Weimin, China's secretary of the press bureau said that their Ministry of Foreign Affairs had emphasized that "their policy in Africa to offer support is not necessarily out of resource cooperation, it aims at supporting the independence development of countries concerned".

In the Internet in China, regarding this large amount of African support, there were many writings that criticized that "the priority should be to solve poverty problems in the country"; but there was also affirmative opinion saying that "in Africa, the fields in economy, military affairs, and diplomacy are all have strategic significance".

As China has the ability to use money to buy influence in Africa, it seems that there is no reason for China to feel too unhappy about the presence of the US in Asia.