China will allocate 1 billion yuan (140 million U.S. dollars) for the development of agriculture in African countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening ceremony of the ninth summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FCAC), TASS reports.
“China will provide Africa with 1 billion yuan in emergency assistance for the construction of a standardized model zone with an area of 100 thousand mu (over 6.6 thousand hectares),” – said the Chinese leader.
According to him, Beijing will also send 500 highly qualified specialists to Africa.
Xi Jinping added that a joint Sino-African partnership will be established to implement innovations in agriculture.
He also said China plans to implement around 500 projects in countries in the region aimed at improving the well-being of local residents, promising to create at least 1 million new jobs in Africa.
FCAS has been held since 2000, alternating between Beijing and one of the African capitals. The forum is considered an important platform for strengthening the economic, political and cultural influence of the People’s Republic of China in Africa.
One of the key objectives of the event is to promote projects of the One Belt, One Road initiative.
