Over the last decade, given the improvement of the overall situation in Africa, as well as the increasing importance of its resources and markets' potential, Africa's prominence on the world stage has been constantly rising.

Increased attention from international society has been given to the continent, and a variety of African summits were held one after another, including the already exist Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, US-Africa Leaders Summit, the India-Africa Forum Summit. Moreover, South Korea and Japan have also planned their Africa summits for 2016.

The first Sino-African summit was held eight years earlier than that between the US and Africa. Since 2009, China has been the largest trading partner of the continent.

China's political, economic and cultural influence on Africa is also growing stronger. Hence, some Western countries have started to feel uncomfortable.

They think Beijing has moved their cheese in Africa. The so called "new colonialism" theory and the claims that China is "plundering Africa's natural resources" also stem from these nations.

In the mean time, emerging powers such as India, Brazil, and Malaysia have all increased their investment in African countries and trade cooperation with them.

Many Western media therefore tend to deliberately hype up the "competition," or even "fight" between China and other emerging nations like India or Brazil.

As matter of fact, old colonial powers do not need to panic. Emerging powers that are standing on the same starting line with China has even less reason to focus on the "competition" instead of collaboration, given the process of South-South Cooperation.

Although the Sino-African relationship has been rapidly developing in each field since the establishment of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in 2000, such a development has never harmed or reduced other countries' interests in Africa. Nor did China ever treat Africa as its own "plot for private use."

Instead, China has been dedicated to helping African countries develop and reduce poverty, and has been building the region as a place with common interests.

The results of economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, such as the improvement of infrastructure construction, and local people's purchasing power, are all about orchestrating public goods for the area's future development, and laying a solid foundation for its economic development.

If that is achieved, and the region's other public goods to attract foreign investment are improved well enough, it will not only benefit Africa's economic development, but will also be in favor of Africa's ties with its other partners.

When it comes to benign business competition based on the principle of the market economy, China has always been open and inclusive. We believe that when African countries have more partners, they will have more room to make independent choices, and benign competition is conducive to the growth of African business environment as well as its autonomy, which China is glad to see.

The takeoff of the African economy, and the promotion of the region's economic integration is in need of more international collaboration as well as foreign investment.

When major powers come into contact with Africa, either for competition or cooperation, they should treat the countries equally with respect, while making "promoting Africa's development" as their common and ultimate goal. Only in that case will Africa welcome the major powers, no matter they are developed countries, or emerging ones.

The author is a senior research fellow at the Charhar Institute and a research fellow of African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn