China celebrated its friendly relations with Africa Saturday by pledging to double aid to the continent over the next three years in a summit aimed at deepening political and trade ties with nearly 50 African nations.
Chinese President Hu Jintao touted "the common pursuit of friendship, peace, co-operation and development" with Africa at the official opening of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation.
"Our meeting today will make history," he said in his speech to African leaders attending the summit.
"The forum serves as an important platform and effective mechanism for conducting collective dialogue ... and enhancing mutual trust and co-operation between China and African countries."
Hu announced fresh pledges of aid and loans in the next three years, saying China's aid to Africa would double by 2009, but stopped short of disclosing the value.
China would also provide three billion dollars of preferential loans and two billion dollars of preferential buyer's credit loans to the continent, he said.
Beijing would also cancel more debt owed by poor African countries in the form of interest-free government loans, he announced.
China had already cancelled the debt of 31 poor African nations worth 10.9 billion yuan (1.36 billion dollars) during the past five decades.
Hu pledged China would further open up its market to Africa by increasing the number of tariff-free export products from 190 to 440 and would establish three to five trade and economic co-operation zones in Africa.
A five billion dollar development fund to encourage Chinese companies to invest in Africa would also be set up.
Trade between China and Africa in 2005 amounted to 39.7 billion dollars -- nearly a tenfold increase from 1995 -- and was likely to reach 50 billion dollars this year, according to Chinese officials.
Oil is a big part of that rise, with China last year importing 38.3 million tons of crude from Africa, accounting for 30 percent of its oil imports, according to official statistics.
"China will forever be a good friend, good partner, good brother of Africa," Hu told the 48 African countries represented at the Great Hall of the People.
"Common development is the shared aspiration of the Chinese and African peoples... We are committed to pursuing mutually beneficial co-operation to bring the benefits of development to our peoples."
China's need to source more natural resources from Africa -- including oil, iron ore, timber, cotton and minerals -- has attracted the most interest from the Western world, which is watching the deepening ties with some nervousness.
But despite criticism from the West on many counts, including the accusation that China is encouraging human rights abuses in some countries, China and Africa insist that increasing trade and co-operation is a win-win situation.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, the host of the last forum, said Africa's partnership with China was based on "trust and mutual confidence".
China has described the event as its biggest and most important international gathering since the founding of the Communist regime in 1949, and has taken remarkable measures to dress up Beijing to impress its guests.
Banners proclaiming "friendship, co-operation, development and peace" have been pasted on most major streets in downtown Beijing in recent weeks, while more than 750,000 cars have been ordered off the roads during the summit.
Many dissidents and activists have been put under house arrest to prevent them from staging possible demonstrations.
A number of deals and a summit declaration are expected to be announced on Sunday, according to the official program.