China has pledged to boost its cooperation with African countries in their fight against extremist factions such as Boko Haram, which is considered to be the deadliest “terrorist” organization in the world.
The news comes a week after extremists killed 19 people in an attack at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali’s capital Bamako in a terror assault targeting foreign nationals, including three from China.
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The attack claimed the lives of three Chinese executives who were working for the state owned China Rail Construction Corp.
"As China continues to promote pragmatic cooperation between China and Africa, we will strengthen bilateral cooperation in counter-terrorism and the fight against extremism," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a speech to diplomats and reporters in Beijing.
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The Islamic State group killed Chinese hostage Fan Jinghui in Syria earlier in November, after which China’s President Xi Jinping said, “terrorism is the enemy of all human beings.”
On Thursday, China announced it had signed a 10-year agreement with the African nation Djibouti to build a logistical military hub after successful negotiations with President Ismail Omar Guelleh.
It says the proposed base, located on the horn of Africa, will support Chinese peacekeeping and anti-piracy missions.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the base will help China’s navy “carry out escort missions in the waters near Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, and provide humanitarian assistance.”
“It will help China's military further carry out its international responsibilities to safeguard global and regional peace and stability,” he continued.
#China to increase investment in #Africa, buy more non-resources products: official https://t.co/v6bVSlXz3K pic.twitter.com/UMtycIQAAB
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) November 26, 2015
China has long been engaged in the development of African industries such as mining and oil and gas and has become the continent's largest trading partner. It is thought China exchanges US$160 billion-worth of goods a year while approximately a million Chinese nationals, who are mainly laborers and traders, have relocated to various countries across the region in last decade.
