China 's new president sought to address concerns among African leaders about the uneven nature of trade relations on Monday , promising an equal relationship that would promote development on the continent . Xi Jinping made the speech defending China 's economic role in Africa in Tanzania , the first stop of his African tour . He travels to South Africa on Tuesday and will attend a summit of the BRICS countries in the port city of Durban on Wednesday . The focus on Africa on his first trip overseas trip underscores the strategic importance of the continent 's natural resources for the world 's second biggest economy , but local leaders are asking whether the relationship has benefited Africa as much as it has China . Xi will finish his trip in the Republic of Congo , from where China imports oil to fuel its economic growth . In what was billed by Chinese media as a major foreign policy speech , Xi said that China had done its best to help Africa 's development and insisted on equality among all countries , irrespective of size , strength and wealth . `` Africa belongs to the African people , '' he said . `` In developing relations with Africa , all countries should respect Africa 's dignity and independence , '' he added . A lot is at stake . Africa is already a major source of natural resources for China and with African economies now some of the world 's fastest growing , it 's also an emerging a marketplace for Chinese-made goods . Trade between Africa and China totaled $ 200 billion in 2012 , according to Chinese state media , and the country is Africa 's largest trading partner . African leaders have welcomed China 's no-strings investment as a counterbalance to Western aid that is usually conditional on reducing poverty , stamping out corruption or introducing democratic reforms . But some , including Botswana President Ian Khama and Nigerian central bank governor Lamido Sanusi , have begun to question to what extent Africa has benefited . `` Cracks are appearing in this China-Africa relationship , '' said CNN Beijing and former Africa correspondent David McKenzie . `` There 's a sense from Africans that it 's not an equal relationship . That China is extracting oil and then in return building infrastructure projects with its own companies and own workers and not necessarily transferring the skills to African workers . '' Xi signed trade and cultural agreements in Tanzania on Sunday and is due to meet with South African counterpart Jacob Zuma on Tuesday . He will then fly to Durban to attend the BRICS summit -- which groups Brazil , Russia , India , China and South Africa -- where plans to create a multinational lender to rival the World Bank will be discussed . Gratitude for Chinese investment in Africa has also been tarnished by a number of scandals , including the distribution of fake and poor quality anti-malarial drugs made illicitly in China and the mistreatment of workers . `` It is time for Africans to wake up to the realities of their romance with China , '' Sanusi wrote in an editorial in the Financial Times this month . `` China takes out primary goods and sells us manufactured ones . This was also the essence of colonialism . '' Botswana 's president recently told a South African newspaper that Chinese companies had let down his country , particularly over a power generation project . Khama added that other African leaders shared his concerns . But Adams Bodomo , African Studies director at Hong Kong University , says claims of neo-colonialism are overblown and that China 's influence `` was more positive than negative . '' According to Xinhua , 85 % of the staff employed by the more 2,000 Chinese companies operating in Africa were Africans . `` In 10 years , China has built a lot more infrastructure than , for example , Britain did in my own country -- Ghana -- for 100 years , '' Bodomo said .
China 's new president seeks to address unease over trade . Xi Jinping visiting Tanzania , South Africa and Republic of Congo on first overseas trip . Chinese have built infrastructure in exchange for natural resources like oil . Comment: