China’s aggressive development of the market economy  on the wheels of industrialisation has lifted over half a billion people out of poverty, thereby creating the world's largest middle class in the process.

The President said this when he addressed a roundtable meeting of Presidents and Heads of State at the third Summit of the Forum on China Africa Co-operation (FOCAC)  in Beijing, China on Tuesday.

Ghana inspired

President Akufo-Addo said Ghana was inspired by the Chinese model and was trying to replicate same through its industrialisation policy of “One district One factory”, and an increase in agricultural productivity through the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs pragramme.

He congratulated President Xi Jinping for holding the summit and noted that both China and Africa recognised that a win-win situation for their respective peoples would be the desired outcome.

The President indicated that China was the largest trading partner of Ghana and most  countries in Africa.

He added that the continent was grateful for the support of China, especially  financial and technical, given to African countries over the years, and the implementation of the commitments made by China at recent FOCAC Summits, which had benefitted the peoples of Africa considerably.

“We believe that the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’, proposed by President Xi Jinping, will further intensify Chinese commitment to Africa’s development. Last night’s message from President Xi, in his opening statement at this  year’s summit, involving the allocation of a comprehensive package of support for Africa’s development, including a $60 billion fund, is a powerful reinforcement of that commitment.

“I have urged others not to ignore Africa, and I am glad that China is, most certainly, not ignoring our continent," the President added.

Value addition

President Akufo-Addo explained that the resolve of his government was to build a value-added, industrialised economy with a modernised agriculture, trading in the global marketplace on the basis of products produced, and chart its own self-reliant, independent path within the world economic order.

“We believe that effective co-operation with China will help us attain this goal. Indeed, we want our relations with China to be characterised by an increase in trade and investment co-operation, and not by the export and import of raw materials,” he said.

The President believed that the way foward was to develop healthy relations between Ghana and China to put Ghana at the high end of the value chain and create jobs for the teeming masses of Ghanaians, particularly the youth.

President Akufo-Addo told his colleague Presidents that, “We are determined that this new era of Ghana-China and Africa-China relations will reaffirm the principles of solidarity, mutual trust and respect, which have anchored those relations, and which will assist us deliver progress and prosperity for our peoples.”