Mumbai: China has warned India, the United States, Japan and Australia against forging a quadripartite format which may go against the global trend and possibly "divide" Asia .

"China believes that to enhance mutual trust, expand cooperation for mutual benefit and win-win, be open and inclusive is the global trend," reports quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying.

All countries should conform to the trend and do more to enhance mutual trust and strengthen cooperation, Qin stressed.

"We have noticed relevant reports," Qin said without confirming or denying Indian media reports that China has sought an explanation from New Delhi, Washington, Tokyo and Canberra on the purpose of holding the first-ever meeting of senior officials of the four nations on 24 and 25 May in Manila, the Philippines.

According to media reports, the meeting, held on the sidelines of an ASEA Regional Forum (ARF) session, discussed issues like disaster management, economic cooperation and energy issue. All four countries also agreed to meet again to continue their dialogue.

Qin did not respond whether Chinese vice foreign minister, Dai Bingguo, who is also the special representative of China to the India-China boundary negotiations, raised the quadripartite issue during the fourth round of Sino-US strategic dialogue with US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte in Washington from 20 and 21 June.

China, meanwhile, launched the Africa Development Fund, marking an important step forward in boosting win-win development in Africa.

The amount for the first phase is only $1 billion, far from enough to meet African countries'' thirst for development funds. For African countries, the fund provides new opportunity to not only receive help from China but to gain valuable insight into China ''s development experience.

The fund is part of China ''s commitment to help Africa. The fund''s total $5 billion will also enable Chinese enterprises to get a foothold and invest in Africa.

African countries have a huge demand for infrastructure, one of the major drivers for economic growth and poverty reduction. It is expected that this fund will largely bolster vital infrastructure construction.

While both China and many African countries recognize the mutual benefits of such a development fund, China has also attracted criticism by development experts, who say the practice of tying economic assistance to the purchase of goods and services from the donor country was wasteful and inefficient.

It is estimated that the continent requires an investment of $20 billion annually over the next 10 years to improve infrastructure. The China-Africa Development Fund can directly help African countries address part of the problem of building much-needed infrastructure.