"We are not in any way attempting to keep Chinese dollars from Africa," Tillerson told a news conference in the Ethiopian capital. The United States is the leading aid donor to Africa but China surpassed it as a trade partner in 2009. Tillerson said Chinese investments "do not bring significant job creation locally" and criticized how Beijing structures loans to African government. Earlier this week, Tillerson criticized "China's approach" to Africa which he said encouraged dependency through "opaque contracts" and "predatory loan practices". Tillerson is due to fly to Djibouti, host to military bases owned by the U.S., China, Japan, France, and Italy.

Source: Ethiopian News March 08, 2018 08:48 UTC