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.
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