China's expanding presence in Africa is based on mutually beneficial investment, not 'neo-colonialism,' said Zhong Jianhua, China's ambassador to South Africa, refuting recent allegations by the U.S. that Beijing's procurement of raw materials on the continent are a new form of colonialism.

His Excellency, Zhong Jianhua, China's ambassador to South Africa, takes the questions from China.org.cn. [Maverick Chen / China.org.cn]

Speaking in Zambia last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said Africa should beware "new colonialism" at the hands of China, alluding to massive purchases of the continent's rich resources by Chinese state-owned enterprises.

Zhong said China is practising fair trade with African countries, and its presence as a bulk buyer has greatly raised Africa's economic status.

"China's entry into the negotiation table has ended the Western countries' monopoly on the world commodity market, thus the African countries are now able to sell their resources at better and more satisfactory prices," Zhong said.

In the past, when African countries were still colonies, their colonial rulers would seize local resources for free. The situation didn't change much after the African countries declared independence, because the world market was still monopolized by industrialised countries for a long time, Zhong said. But when China and other emerging countries came, joining the negotiations and offering fair market prices, Africa's status as a seller was greatly boosted. Now African nations can sell their resources to whoever offers the highest price, he said.

Take oil trade as an example,For a long time, oil price was as low as 6 U.S. cents per barrel; the countries who exported oil including many African countries didn't make money at all. But now the price is almost US$150. It's only natural that some of Africa traditional trade partners feel some kind of unease ," Zhong said.

Those who allege China is practising neo-colonialism in Arica are mostly not Africans, the ambassador emphasized,That's because for centuries, some countries have regarded Africa as their backyard.They think that they have brought civilization to Africa, and shaped the continent with Christian culture, Naturally, Africa should feel indebted to them, he said.

But most African countries think differently. They consider China's aid programmes vital to helping them achieving independence as well as jump starting their economy. In recent years, most African nations have reported faster growth, and many African counties are beginning to pull themselves out of poverty.