“Ｉ ｃａｎ ｆｅｅｌ ｔｈｅ ｔｒｕｅ ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ ｂｅｔｗｅｅｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ ａｎｄ Ａｆｒｉｃａ”

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， Sharon T. Freeman， president of the All American Small Business Exporters Association， former adviser to the secretary of commerce and well-known woman writer， and her husband visited Beijing and Shenzhen from March 2 to 14 to collect materials for her new book about Sino-African relations. During her stay， she called on leading members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the Ministry of Commerce， the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade， the CPAFFC， the Chinese Academy of SocialSciences and the School of International Studies of Peking University， Chinese special envoy to Africa Liu Guijin， China-Africa Business Council， the Representative of the Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency China Office at Shenzhen International Science and Technology Business Platform， the Sino- Egyptian Joint Business Council， the Africa-Invest. Net， the China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Beijing Holley-Cotec Pharmaceuticals Co.， Ltd. Through these meetings， she focused her investigation on Sino-African relationship and trade exchanges between the two sides.

Members of relevant departments answered questions and briefed on the situation of such issues as the writer is concerned about including human rights and economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa. In his response to the issue of human rights， Ambassador Liu Guijin said， China’s stand on human rights consists of three points: first， we should consider a country’s level of development， solve the problem of food and clothing first， and then discuss other issues; second， implement our country’s policy of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs; lastly， we should negotiate and solve problems as friends instead of resorting to warnings， sanctions or use of force. As for the Sudan issue， it is only through multilateral efforts to mediate between the Sudanese government， the neighbouring countries， the African Union， the United Nations and all other stakeholders， can the issue be resolved. Representatives of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences analyzed the friction arising from the trade between China and Africa， and said it was absolutely not caused by China alone， but resulted from multiple elements such as national protectionism， tariff evasion， disorder of export regulations， etc.， and joint efforts of both China and African countries are required to solve the problem.

The visit of nearly half a month has given Dr. Freeman a brand new understanding of Sino- African relations. She said， “After listening to your experiences in Africa， I can feel the true friendship between China and Africa， because the experiences of Chinese and African people are the most powerful evidence.” Having learned about the situation of the trade between China and Africa， she commented with appreciation， “China has certainly made its unique efforts and gestures in promoting its trade exchanges with Africa. In this respect， our country should learn from China. When I return home， I will report in details to the commercial department of the government what I have seen and heard here. I will also suggest that cooperation and exchanges be enhanced in import and export between small enterprises of China and the U.S.” On several occasions， she said with emotion， “So China has done so many things in Africa， but neither had I in Africa nor our country heard this voice. On the contrary， our ears are filled with denouncement and boycott. I shall reveal all this in my book so that more people may know truly about China and China’s relationship with Africa.”Her husband Peter Gebre， an Ethiopian， also said with deep feelings， “My country has no minerals or oil， and definitely not a country rich in natural resources. However， China has always helped us build roads and bridges and construct infrastructures. The Chinese people have been our constant friends.”

Sharon T. Freeman planned to publish her new book worldwide in 5 languages in June 2009， with the title Perspectives: China， Africa， and the African diaspora.