China-Africa ties evaluated as essential partnership

LAGOS - The essential thing about China- Africa relations is about partnership, which is based on the principle of give and take, says Bola A. Akinterinwa, acting director-general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.

"The old colonialism of the West was that they took from Africa without giving anything in return. If you take and you don't give, it creates imbalance, "Akinterinwa told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"If anybody says that China is colonizing Africa I don't agree with that because the sovereign countries on their own signed the agreements. Not like the West that imposed colonial rule on Africa without the consent of the African countries," he noted.

Akinterinwa sees Nigeria-China relations as a welcome development as long as it increases the business potentials of Nigeria. He said Nigerian entrepreneurs should be able to take advantage of the opportunities.

Nigeria needs to generate the needed expertise that will change the economic fortunes of the country so that whatever partnership must comply with the implementation of agreement reached, he said.

He said Puegeot and Voxwagen automobile companies have been in operation in Nigeria for over 30 years, but Nigeria has not yet acquired the technological knowledge in making cars.

He hoped Nigeria could get some technological know-how from China against the backdrop of many big Chinese projects under construction in Nigeria.

"What Africans should do is to address developmental problems because it is a serious issue. We should play politics to assist economic growth and development," he said.