Interview: China offers healthier, more balanced example of global cooperation, says Senegalese expert

DAKAR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The cooperation model that China offers to African countries and the rest of the world is healthy, fair and based on the principle of mutual benefit, a Senegalese expert has said.

Far from the drastic conditions or eligibility criteria that other nations or institutions advocate for African countries, China seeks mutually advantageous and equitable cooperation with Africa according to the priorities defined by African countries, said Amadou Diop, a Senegalese expert on China.

China's assistance to Africa "is largely aimed at achieving socio-economic and cultural projects of great importance, such as road infrastructure, hospitals, schools, bridges," Diop said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Cooperation between the two sides is focused on development, the expert said, adding that China has helped Africa in building various quality infrastructure throughout the continent.

"There is a wealth of examples, notably those in Senegal and in most African countries," Diop said, citing the Blaise Diagne-Mbour-Thies International Airport highway and the Mbour-Fatick-Kaolack highway both funded by Chinese corporations in his country.

Africa-China cooperation will undoubtedly grow stronger, he said, pointing to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as "a good example."

In 2000, FOCAC was established to form a collective dialogue mechanism between China and African countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. The forum opened a new chapter of pragmatic cooperation in the China-Africa friendship.

The African continent and China have ushered in a harmonious and increasingly prosperous cooperation dynamic, Diop said. "The strengthening of cooperation between China and Africa is increasingly raising new hopes for the future of Africa," the expert said.