The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has generated numerous opportunities for partner countries, including Angola, as noted by João Baptista Borges, the Angolan Minister of Energy and Water, in an exclusive interview with the Global Times, during which he conveyed appreciation for the positive changes that Chinese companies have contributed to his country's development, notably in sectors including water, energy supply, and green transformation.
The Angolan minister has also refuted the West's intensified allegations over the so-called "debt trap" issue targeting the initiative, calling it both "untrue and unfair."
These remarks were made on the sidelines of his visit to China on behalf of Angolan President João Lourenço to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), which was held in Beijing from Tuesday to Wednesday.
China's increased support for Angola can be traced back to the early 2000s when the country was emerging from a decades-long civil war and was in dire need of extensive rebuilding, the minister said.
At that time, there was a pressing need for rebuilding, and the country had already begun receiving substantial financial support from the Chinese government for various critical infrastructure projects, such as water and energy supplies, Borges explained.
The cooperation with China has later increased substantially, with a range of major projects, including water treatment systems and transmission systems, being built to help secure the energy supply of the country and improve the living standards of local people.
China… and we are very grateful to China for these supports that enabled us to greatly improve the big dimension of living conditions of our people," Borges said.
"We are in no way support such claims [by Western media] over China and we believe that it is not fair to criticize China the country that have offered us all these supports," he said.
The minister noted that the cooperation with China is on a win-win basis and stated, "China has never imposed any projects on us; each project was selected by us."
Moreover, the BRI is well integrated into Angola's long-term development and "allows us to progressively improve our social and economic situation in Angola the way we want it to be," Borges noted.
Borges said that he believes that the BRI will continue to create many more opportunities for partner countries across a broader range of sectors, not only in water and energy but also in telecommunications and transportation, which can promote connectivity in the region and beyond.