African leaders dismiss EU concerns over Chinese investment

African heads of state said their countries are mature enough to deal with large-scale Chinese investment in the continent despite Western concerns that such deals ignore human rights and good governance, Reuters reported. The leaders, speaking at the end of a two-day EU-Africa summit in Lisbon, hailed China and India as economic partners. "The Chinese work everywhere, they don't make speeches, they work fast. The fact is that Indian and Chinese products are much less expensive than European products," said Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. Thanks to huge investments in minerals and oil, China is now Africa's third-largest trade partner. Total trade came to US$63 billion in 2006, and was up a further 30% in the first 10 months of 2007. World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said China should do more to help fight poverty and corruption on the continent.