A report released by the Commission for Africa said on June 7 that the rapid growth of China-Africa trade volume and China's experience are "very important" for African countries to eradicate poverty.

As the initiator of the commission, British Ambassador to China Christopher Hum said that China's economic development has not only positively impacted the world economy, but has also created an international model for the reduction of poverty.

According to the statistics provided by the report, the Chinese government has helped about 400 million Chinese successfully shake off poverty from 1981 to 2001.

The report also noted that the surge of China-Africa trade is a very significant showcase for studying approaches to poverty reduction in Africa.

China-Africa trade valued at 2 billion US dollars in 1999 and then surged to 26.3 billion US dollars in November 2004, which works significantly for African counties to reduce poverty, said the report.

China also exempted tariffs for the 25 most under-developed African countries and offered 50 million US dollars to the Africa Development Fund which also work positively for the African countries to resolve poverty issue, the report added.

African countries can learn from China's success in boosting the private economy, increasing investment in infrastructure construction and improving the policy implementation capability of central and local governmental organs, Hum said.

Ji Peiding, vice-chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress of China, said that development is a common task for the world and an urgent issue for the developing countries.

"Africa needs to rely on its own efforts to develop, and meanwhile, it is also the responsibility and duty of the international community to offer assistance in this process," said Ji, who is also one of the commissioners of the commission.

In a reply to a reporter's question, Ji called on the international community, the developed countries in particular, to honor their commitment with concrete actions such as providing debt relief, bigger assistance and broader market access to African countries.

The Commission for Africa was launched by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in February 2004. The aim of the commission was to take a fresh look at Africa's past and present and the international community's role in its development path. The Commission's report was tasked to produce clear recommendations for the G8, the European Union and other developed countries as well as African countries.

Source: Xinhua