1．African media spotlight China's war on graft
December 15, 2011. By Zhang Yi. People's Daily Online
20 journalists from five African countries, invited by the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC), recently completed a12-day tour of China in which they observed the country's efforts to fight graft andcorruption.
Starting with a visit to the headquarters of the CPC Central Commission for DisciplineInspection (CCDI) and the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department inBeijing, editors and correspondents from major media bodies in Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Southern Sudan got an in-depth look at the Party's key anti-graft agencies.
During their tour of the CCDI compound, the top discipline inspection organ of the CPC, the journalists checked out an exhibition on the history of the CCDI and learned aboutthe investigations that typically take place in corruption cases.
The second leg of the journey took the journalists to south China's Guangdongprovince from Dec. 3 to 9. The province's cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen havemade pioneering efforts in fighting corruption, many of which have been documented by African journalists.
A spokesman from the Shenzhen disciplinary inspection commission told the journaliststhat the transition process from a planned economy to a market economy not only ledto unprecedented economic growth, but also created opportunities for officials to takebribes.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90883/7677337.html
2．Africa: When will the West ever learn?
December 1, 2011. By Bob Wekesa. China Daily
A global aid meeting in South Korea this week has highlighted China's role as an emerging donor, but some Western media outlets are using the meeting to criticize China-Africa relations again, saying China "has developed close ties" with African countries to seek natural resources in exchange of aid.
China-bashing is neither new nor rare. In recent years, the strengthening of relations between China and African countries has become an important geopolitical issue. In June, for instance, Clinton accused China of "colonizing Africa" after attending the US' own trade and economic strategy with Africa, called the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) in Lusaka, Zambia.
Clinton's sentiments reflect a measure of the US' frustration after being outpaced by China in Africa on nearly all fronts. For instance, between 2000 and 2010, the trade volume between China and Africa grew more than 1,000 percent, making China not only to overtake both the European Union and the US , but also to become the most important trading partner of Africa.
Statistics from other areas of Sino-African cooperation such as education, science and technology, agriculture, politics, culture and investment are equally impressive.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-12/01/content_14193807.htm
3．China refutes "land grab" claims in Africa
December 8. Xinhua
China on Thursday refuted claims that it has been buying up land in Africa, calling for "concrete" efforts to help the continent's agricultural sector develop in a sustainable way.
"China always seeks food self-sufficiency through its own domestic output," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular press briefing.
Instead of grabbing land in Africa, China has been providing as much technical assistance as it can to help develop agriculture there and enhance the continent's capability of using its natural resources and addressing issues such as climate change and food security, Hong said.
"Those efforts are welcomed by the African nations," he added.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90883/7670528.html
4．China to continue sending naval escort squads to Somali waters
December 1. Xinhua
China will continue to dispatch naval escort squads to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.
Spokesman Geng Yansheng made the remarks at a monthly press briefing, adding that China will further boost cooperation with international escort missions in accordance with the spirit of the United Nations Security Council.
China sent its first convoy fleet to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters in 2008, and December will mark the country's third year of making great contributions to maintaining national interests and world peace, Geng said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/30/c_131280232.htm
5．China has no colonial designs on Africa
December 9. By Hu Yinan. China Daily
China on Thursday said it is not responsible for imposing "actually existing" neo-colonialism on Africa, dismissing earlier reports by certain Western media outlets.
"China has always insisted upon a policy of self-sufficiency in grain. Instead of purchasing piles of land in Africa, it has, to the best of its ability, offered aid in agricultural technology to African countries and helped their agricultural production, as well as boosted the indigenous exploitation of their own natural resources and the capacity to cope with climate change and food security," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing in Beijing.
There is a broad consensus among African nations that China is not pursuing a neo-colonial strategy in Africa, Hong said.
In a related development, China's Special Envoy for African Affairs Liu Guijin is visiting Sudan and South Sudan to promote talks between the two countries on their dispute regarding oil.
Luo Xiaoguang, China's ambassador to Sudan, last week said there was no reason to stop the oil exports as long as negotiations were ongoing between the two countries.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-12/09/content_14235749.htm