Daily News  :: Southern Africa

Johannesburg - China has rejected criticism from the World Bank's president that it ignored social and environmental standards when lending to developing nations in Africa.

In an interview with Paris-based Les Echos newspaper, Paul Wolfowitz said nearly 80 percent of the trade banks in the world respected social and environmental risk management principles when they financed African projects. "(But) the large Chinese banks do not respect them," he reportedly said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Tuesday that China's loans to African countries were helping to improve ordinary people's lives.

"China cannot accept this accusation," Liu said. "China has adopted the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and China does not want to impose one's value system on others.

"China has maintained good co-operation ... on the basis of equality and mutual benefits with a view to promote social and economic development as well as the improvement of living standards of African people."

Wolfowitz told the French newspaper that he had discussed the issue with China and hoped the two sides' points of view would "converge" in the future. Sapa-AFP