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Huge surge in China-Africa trade

Beijing -Trade between China and Africa surged 43.5% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2010, Beijing said on Thursday as it pledged to further strengthen ties with the continent.

The value of two-way trade reached $114.8bn from January to November, the state council, or cabinet, said in a report on Sino-African economic and trade cooperation.

The world's second-largest economy has steadily been beefing up ties with Africa, which is rich in the energy resources and raw materials China needs to fuel its breakneck growth.

After trade grew at an average rate of 33.5% annually between 2000 and 2008, China became Africa's largest trade partner last year even though exchanges declined due to the global financial crisis, it said.

"China will continue to promote China-Africa economic exchanges... broaden the scope of cooperation, explore new methods of cooperation and share the fruits of development with the African countries," the report said.

Chinese capital has poured into the continent, despite criticism in the West of Beijing's support for the hardline regimes of leaders such as Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

Beijing had pumped a total of $9.3bn in direct investment into Africa by the end of 2009, covering several sectors, including mining, agriculture, forestry and construction, according to the paper.

From 2000 to 2009, China cancelled more than 300 debts of 35 African countries worth $2.9bn, it said. 

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