U.S. Secretary Tillerson warns Africa about Chinas loans
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asked about tillersons criticism of chinas approach on the continent kenyas foreign affairs minister monica juma said this country is engaging with partners from across the world driven by our own interests and for our own value1 russias foreign minister sergei kavrov says comment inappropriate1 tillerson is using his first diplomatic trip to the continent to bolster security alliances on a continent increasingly turning to beijing for aid and trade1 he may also seek to smoothen relations after u.s. president trump reportedly dismissed some african nations as shithole countries in january. trump later denied making the comment1 we are not in any way attempting to keep chinese dollars from africa tillerson told a news conference in the ethiopian capital. it is important that african countries carefully consider the terms of those agreements and not forfeit their sovereignty1 the united states is the leading aid donor to africa but china surpassed it as a trade partner in 2009. beijing has pumped billions into infrastructure projects though critics say the use of chinese firms and labor undermines their value1 tillerson said chinese investments do not bring significant job creation locally and criticised how beijing structures loans to african government1 if a government accepts a chinese loan and gets into trouble he said it can lose control of its own infrastructure or its own resources through default. he did not give examples1 russian foreign minister sergei lavrov visiting zimbabwe on thursday told reporters it was inappropriate for tillerson to criticise chinas relationship with african countries1 it was not appropriate to criticise the relations of his hosts when he was a guest there with another country he said. many african governments enjoy close ties with both washington and beijing1 kenya for example inaugurated a 3.2 billion railway funded by china last year. for the last three years kenya has received more than 100 million annually in u.s. security assistance1 u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson said on thursday that african countries should be careful not to forfeit their sovereignty when they accept loans from china the continents biggest trading partner1 tillerson arrived in ethiopia africas second most populous nation on wednesday and visited the african union headquarters on thursday. the complex was funded and built by china and is seen as a symbol of beijings thrust for influence and access to the continents natural resources1 ethiopia is home to some of beijings biggest investments from a railway to djibouti that opened last year to factories and industrial parks1 earlier this week tillerson criticised chinas approach to africa which he said encouraged dependency through opaque contracts and predatory loan practices1 ethiopias prime minister resigned suddenly last month and a state of emergency was imposed but protests in the restive oromia region have continued1 tillerson said after meeting his ethiopian counterpart workneh gebeyehu that the answer to political turmoil in ethiopia was greater freedoms and said state of emergency should be lifted as quickly as possible1 tillerson reiterated previous calls for african states to cut ties with north korea1 north korea has more than a dozen embassies on the continent. the trump administration has said that pyongyang earns hard currency from arms deals with african government and the trafficking of wildlife parts from africa1 tillerson is due to fly to djibouti host to military bases owned by the u.s. china japan france and italy1 he will then visit kenya a key u.s. ally in the fight against al shabaab islamist militants in somalia before traveling to chad and nigeria which are also battling to contain islamist insurgents1 analysts say trump has focused mainly on security concerns in africa at a time when china turkey and other nations are ramping up diplomatic and business links1 when you look at the set of countries that are being visited i think it kind of reinforces the perception that security indeed is the overwhelming focus said brahima coulibaly the director of the africa growth initiative at brookings institution1