ISTANBUL

China’s President Xi Jinping Thursday pledged more than $50 billion in funding to the African continent, and announced elevating ties with all member nations to “strategic level.”

The Chinese government “will provide RMB360 billion yuan ($50.7 billion) of financial support through the next three years” to African nations, Xi told the 9th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing.

Beijing is hosting the largest diplomatic gathering with leaders and representatives of nearly 53 African nations attending the three-day summit which began Wednesday.

Xi boasted China’s relations with African nations were “now at its best in history.”

“With its future growth in mind,” Xi told the summit, “I propose that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations.”

He added: “The overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.”

Referring to the pledges of new funding, the Chinese leader said more than half of $50 billion will be in credit while nearly $11 billion will be given in various types of grants.

It also includes $10 billion investments through Chinese firms, said the 71-year-old Xi, who also leads Chinese Communist Party.

10 areas of 'Action Plan'

In the Action Plan adopted at the Beijing summit, Xi announced 10 areas where China will cooperate and work with African nations in jointly advancing “modernization that is just, equitable, open, win-win, eco-friendly, featuring diversity and inclusiveness and underpinned by peace and security.”

Besides, he said China will partner with the African continent in industrial chain cooperation, green development as well as common security.

The FOCAC summit has been held every three years since 2000 when it was founded.

Xi also met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who also attended the summit.

“China seeks no selfish interest in Africa, and the new cooperation initiatives and actions announced at FOCAC (summit) are all aimed at turbocharging African countries’ development and making lives better for the African people,” Xi told Guterres.

The Chinese leader told the world body chief that China was “ready” to work more closely with the UN to jointly support Africa’s effort for peace, stability, development and prosperity.

In the past 22 years since 2000 when FOCAC was established, China has built some 100,000 kilometers (62,138 miles) of highways and 10,000KM of railways in Africa.

Besides, China built over 200 schools, over 130 hospitals, nearly 100 ports as well as 50 stadiums on the continent.

According to the Boston University Global Development Policy Center database, Chinese lenders provided 1,306 loans amounting to $182.28 billion to 49 African governments and seven regional borrowers from 2000 until last year.

Beijing also founded the China-Africa Development Fund in 2006.​​​​​​​