中国与东非共同体成员国友好合作

　　During China's cooperation with Eastern Africa or even Africa as a whole,noteworthy achievements have been made in infrastructure,economy and trade.This has been determined by development characteristics of China and Africa as well as development of China-Africa relationship.Since the reform and opening up,China,the developing country with the largest territory,population and economy,has been confronted with low productivity,poor infrastructure,low income,and inter-regional imbalances,including those between urban and rural areas.To shake off these constraints,China has formulated the development concept that "better transportation leads to greater economic prosperity."Thereby,top priority was given to infrastructure construction especially that of highway,railway,airports,bridges and tunnels.Over the past four decades,infrastructure construction has remained high on the agenda of administrations at various levels,despite personnel changes.During the same period,China has built railway networks,highway networks and aviation networks,which are now secondary in size and scope only to those of the USA,as well as the longest high-speed rail network in the world.These networks cover the area inhabited by around 100,000 people and provide convenient transportation for the flow of people and goods.These networks have also given rise to new aggregates ofindustries and population and thus have played an essential role in China's modernization and urbanization.Statistics show that China's urbanization driven by infrastructure construction is unprecedented in its scale.As a result of vigorous infrastructure construction,China's outlook and the Chinese people's quality of life have improved and an industrial chain has developed which centers on infrastructure construction.This industrial chain of infrastructure development integrates design,civil engineering,equipment manufacturing,quality supervision,personnel training,etc.It can be stated that China's mature industrial chain of infrastructure development as well as its high speed of construction is an outstanding testimony to China's development during the four decades since its reform and opening up.It is only natural for infrastructure construction to play a key role in China's cooperation with other countries.　　Since their political independence,African states have made multiple attempts to seek development models that suit them.Immediately after political independence,the founding leaders focused on breaking up the unbalanced economic structure left over from the colonial times.This unsuitable economic model was based on the export of natural resources or cash crops.They hoped to disrupt the asymmetric economic connection which had long existed between them and the colonial states in the West and to gain full economic independence.This,they believed,would help build the material foundation necessary for them to consolidate political independence.Over the next dozen years,a number of African countries struggled in their econonuc development due to weak economic foundations,ossified political leadership,inefficient business performance and others.The situationdeteriorated when the global economy fluctuated due to an oil crisis andvast areas in Africa were hit by natural disasters.In the late 1980s,manyAfrican countries encountered enormous difficulties in development,which provided an opportunity for the West to promote their ideological values and politico-economic models.Traditional Westem powers,including America,France and Britain,and intemational financial agencies,such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund vigorously pushed the Structural Adjustment Packages or the Washington Consensus in Africa,which featured full-scale economic privatization and political pluralism and democratization.With their strong support,some African countries abandoned their original path of development and adopted the therapy prescribed by Western powers.During the 1980s and 1990s,however,the West therapy failed to produce the positive politico-economic development it had promised.Rather,it caused more severe challenges in the societies shaken by socio-political reforms.　　……