China pledges US$20 billion to Africa

China will give US$20 billion for African infrastructure and trade financing over the next three years, the Financial Times reported. The money would be spent on the rehabilitation of railway networks in Angola and Nigeria, and on building a hydroelectric damn in Ethiopia, among other projects. China's donation is now much larger than the US$7 billion in combined pledges from Africa's traditional donors. The African Development Bank met in Shanghai last week. The meeting, its first in Asia, was closed Thursday.