China has said it will make every effort to prepare for the 42nd
African Development Bank (ADB) annual meetings to be held in
Shanghai from May 13 to 18, Xinhua new agency reports.
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China's central bank, the People's
Bank of China, who is also president of the board of governors of
the ADB Group, made the remarks on Wednesday during his visit to
the bank's headquarters in Tunis.
While meeting bank president Donald Kaberuka, Zhou spoke
extensively about the challenges of economic development and his
country's relations with Africa, as well as China's experience in
achieving rocketing economic growth.
Kaberuka underscored the timeliness of the visit and the offer
by China to host the next annual meetings.
Before leaving Tunis, Zhou Xiaochuan held a joint press
conference with President Donald Kaberuka where he stressed that
through the Bank, China could do a lot to support African
development efforts, especially in the area of infrastructure
development.
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He also pointed to the consensus that emerged in the November 2006
China-Africa Summit on strengthening economic and political
relations between China and Africa. The Summit brought together
over forty African Heads of State and Government in Beijing.
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The ADB annual meetings are the most important gathering of
Africa's senior finance and development policymakers and
experts.
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The Shanghai session will be the second time the meetings have been
held outside the African continent.
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Each year, the event brings together about 1,500 private and public
sector managers, including finance ministers of the banking group's
77 member countries.
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China is one of 24 non-regional members of the African Development
Bank Group and has always supported the ADB in its bid to play a
broader role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in
Africa, according to an article on the official website of the
ADB.
(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2007)
