The Economist published on 28 March 2019 a letter by Ms. Zeng Rong, Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, on its unjustified comments on China-Africa co-operation. The full text is as follows:

Regarding your reporting on "The new scramble for Africa" (March 9th), China acts with sincerity, friendship, justice and shared interests with African countries and respects their development paths. Together, we have helped tackle Africa's development bottlenecks. The Mombasa-Nairobi railway is one example of such co-operation. With its completion, the cost of transport could be brought down by 40%. The project created 46,000 jobs, provided training programmes for 45,000 people and contributed to 1.5% of Kenya's GDP growth.

Efficient growth, improving infrastructure and sustainable development are high priorities. China has been a responsible investor and lender in Africa, taking measures to help Africa control debt risks. Our co-operation is open, transparent and non-exclusive. China is not seeking a sphere of influence. We are just one of Africa's global partners and have worked alongside the United States, Britain, Germany, France and many others on the continent.

Africa's longest suspension bridge was built in Mozambique by a Chinese company under the supervision of a German one. An industrial park in Ethiopia was built and operated by a Chinese company, and an American firm helped attract more companies to settle there. The franchising of the N1 Road in Congo was won by a Chinese-French conglomerate.

With the consent of African countries, our co-operative projects are open to third parties from outside Africa.