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Money and jobs. That's part of what China has offered African nations at a summit in Beijing this week - that and a vision of a united Global South led by China and free of Western pressure. NPR's John Ruwitch reports.
JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: Dozens of African leaders traveled to Beijing for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke earlier today.
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PRESIDENT XI JINPING: (Non-English language spoken).
RUWITCH: "The friendship between China and Africa," he said, "transcends time and space, surmounts mountains and oceans and passes down through generations." Xi pledged more than $50 billion in financial support and aid over the coming three years. And he said China will encourage investment that can create at least a million jobs across the continent.
JOSHUA EISENMAN: There's certainly an important political agenda here to set forward China as a leader and a protector of the Global South.
RUWITCH: Joshua Eisenman is an expert on China-Africa relations at the University of Notre Dame.
EISENMAN: China is offering a different way, a relationship-driven approach to politics and economics. And so that is definitely in juxtaposition to what the U.S. is offering.
RUWITCH: Attendance at the forum in Beijing shows there's a receptive audience. But there's been some friction in China-Africa relations lately, with some African countries struggling under the weight of Chinese loans and others disappointed with limited access to the Chinese market. On top of it all, China's economy has been sputtering, raising questions about the path forward for a relationship that's been buoyed by trade and finance. John Ruwitch, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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