World Bank backs Chinese investment plans for Africa
The World Bank has vowed to join efforts with China to invest in the development of a manufacturing sector in Africa that could boost industrialisation and create employment opportunities for local people.
Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, praised China's model of basic manufacturing yesterday at the end of the African Union summit in Ethiopia.
The World Bank is already working with China in jointly funded projects and may also collaborate with local governments to build infrastructure, according to Zoellick.
Many sub-Saharan African countries depend on exports of raw materials as a result of years of colonial rule. But the development of a domestic factory sector could help transform their economies and cut the cost of basic manufactured goods that are imported today.