President William Ruto has called on China to scale up its cooperation with Africa and help countries on the continent access concessional funding for development.

The President asked China to rally stakeholders to double their contribution to multilateral development banks such as the International Development Association of the World Bank that offer developing countries low-interest loans.

“This will enable more African countries to access concessional funding. It will support economies that are heavily affected,” he said.

Ruto also called on China to support Africa’s call for reforms of the international financial system that, he said, was unjust to many countries in the Global South, including Africa.

He called on China to work with Africa on “debt treatment”, and particularly re-profiling of debt to incorporate a longer grace period and longer tenure for existing and future financial financing.

Ruto made the remarks during a meeting on the Belt and Road Initiative that he co-chaired with Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing.

The theme of the meeting was “Pursuing High-Quality Belt and Road Cooperation: A Platform for Modernisation Featuring Planning, Building and Benefiting Together.”

Others who spoke at the session were Presidents Adama Barrow (Gambia), Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), Brice Oligui Nguema (Gabon), Mohamed Younes Menti (Libya) and Al-Burhan Abdelrhman (Sudan).

African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat also contributed his thoughts at the event.

Other African presidents and leaders attended three other such sessions at the same time in separate venues.

Credit ratings

Ruto also called for reform of the international credit rating and debt sustainability systems.

He also announced that African leaders will be holding the first ever meeting next month in Congo Brazzaville to establish parameters for properly assessing the continent’s assets and gross domestic product, and new modalities for determining debt sustainability using Africa’s real wealth.

The President said the unjust international financial system has slowed down the development of Africa.

Meanwhile, Ruto said Africa is keen to reform the African Union to consolidate the continent’s voice, sharpen its vision and build greater consensus now and in the future.

He said the goal is to align the AU to make it fit for purpose, efficient and agile.

“I urge all my colleagues to participate in this endeavour so as to position Africa’s perspective and ideas appropriately in global discourse,” he said.

The President commended the cooperation between China and Africa on transformative programmes, saying Africa needs a robust foundation to achieve a radical turnaround.

He said this would be achieved through the implementation of transformative programmes, citing the enhancement of the continent’s connectivity through the development of essential infrastructure.

Ruto said, through the Belt and Road Initiative and the Four Global Initiatives, the partnership between China and Africa has helped African nations make significant strides towards inclusive growth.

He said the initiatives are enhancing Africa’s collective capacity to tackle complex global challenges, including unemployment, poverty, climate change, inequality, conflict and instability.

“In Kenya, the Belt and Road Initiative has significantly enhanced productivity in both rural and urban areas by facilitating efficient mobility and market access, and creating new opportunities for women and youth,” he said.

Competitive potential

The President said the implementation of Belt and Road projects is transforming African economies and spreading undeniable investment and other opportunities in sectors such as finance, manufacturing and agriculture.

“Consequently, this has promoted our continent’s productive and competitive potential, and strengthened the partnership between Africa and China,” he said.

He said the nine-project Trans-Africa Highway Network which, together with the Great North Road, constitutes nearly 70,000km of quality infrastructure, has radically intensified Africa’s transport connectivity, leaving no country or region behind.

He said through Trans-Africa Highways 4 and 8, as well as the Great North Road, the BRI alone has significantly transformed Kenya’s geostrategic profile.

He said this has made Kenya a global hub for logistics, trade, investment, commerce, ICT, diplomacy and associated services.