The fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has acquired special significance because it is being held at a time when both China and African countries are suffering from the impact of the global financial crisis.

Since the meeting, which Premier Wen Jiabao will attend on Nov 8 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, will help consolidate China-Africa relations it has drawn international attention, too.

Beijing hosted the first FOCAC summit in November 2006, which was attended by leaders of 48 African countries. President Hu Jintao had then announced that China would double its aid to Africa by 2009.

During the past three years, China has fulfilled the commitments it made, and by the end of September it had completed 90 percent of its scheduled projects in Africa.

China's aid to Africa is aimed mainly for economic and social development of the respective countries. China has helped African nations mainly in the fields of infrastructure, agricultural and food production, medical care, education and human resource development. Projects are in line with the New Partnership for African Development.

In agriculture, China has sent about 100 senior technical experts in agriculture to Africa and set up 10 agricultural technique demonstration centers there.

In healthcare, it has helped build 30 hospitals and provided 300 million yuan ($43.9 million) free aid to help African governments prevent and treat malaria.

China began sending medical teams to Africa in the 1960s, and since then Chinese experts have also trained many medical personnel.

Since 2006, 42 medical teams have been dispatched to Africa, which along with the hospitals cover urban and rural areas both. This has, to a large extent, helped countries that have a dearth of doctors and medicines to fight diseases.

Beijing has helped build 126 schools in African countries' rural areas, too.

Another focus of Chinese aid is to strengthen African countries' nation-building capability. China has always attached importance to their nation-building capability and talent development. As a saying goes, it not only "offers fish", but also "teaches fishing" so that the recipient takes the road to sustainable development.

China has organized about 700 classes in three years to train government officials, technicians and administrative staff of African countries. About 15,000 people from 20 different fields, including trade, diplomacy, medical care, education, environmental protection, telecommunication and energy, have attended the training sessions.

No relationship is without hiccups, and China-Africa ties have had their share of twists and turns, too, some of which are still to be straightened out. But the rising pitch of Western countries' accusation that "China is peddling colonialism in Africa" has at least something to do with the hiccups. This is an area where the intellectuals of China and African countries need to respond together, expose the motives behind the accusation and try to eliminate the hurdles on the road to better ties. Only by doing so can we refute the West's accusation.

In fact, Western countries are at the root of most of the problems that African countries face today. They colonized or subjugated the countries, exploited their resources and manpower and left the people to suffer the pangs of abject poverty. Such was the level of exploitation that even after winning independence most of the African countries could not reconstruct their economies.

The story doesn't end there. African nations are still denied their right to be represented and heard at international forums. The North always talks about strengthening North-South dialogue because that would be to the benefit of Western powers. The West rarely talks about South-South cooperation because that would mean a consolidation of developing countries, which China is.

China cooperates with Africa not only because of its resources because it will never exploit another country. Instead, China's aim is to help African countries' realize economic development.

To ensure that Chinese enterprises in African countries fulfill their social responsibility, the Chinese government has asked them to upgrade the industrial structure there and create more jobs for local people.

All these factors make the fourth FOCAC meeting very important. The function of a forum is to analyze existing problems and find solutions for them, which it will do.

And as good partners, China and African countries take care of each other's concerns, enhance trust, cooperate for mutual benefits and respect each other's culture to take their relationship to new heights.

The author is a researcher with the Western Asia and Africa Studies Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

(China Daily 11/06/2009 page9)