Rwandan Ambassador to China James Kimonyo Photo: Courtesy of Embassy of Rwanda in China

China started supporting African countries long before it became the second largest economy in the world. That was the vision of the Communist Party of China (CPC) that even though I'm still hungry, if there is someone who is almost dying because of starvation, they are to receive assistance, Rwanda's ambassador to China James Kimonyo told the Global Times in an exclusive interview. 

"This is a story of a win-win cooperation. Building a community with a shared future for mankind is not a political statement, but it is something that the CPC believes in," said the ambassador. 

The year 2021 also marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Rwanda as the two countries established the diplomatic ties on November 12, 1971.

The ambassador recalled that many things that have happened since then and both countries have witnessed a lot of momentum in bilateral relations since 1990s.

He noted that the cooperation is hinged on "mutual trust which ensures that our people work together to improve their livelihoods" and China has contributed significantly in numerous sectors, starting from infrastructure, health, education, trade, agriculture, to development, and many more. 

Rwanda has continuously supported China in the international forums. Every time there is a global challenge to be addressed, Rwanda is on the side of China, he said. 

Close economic cooperation

The cooperation between the two countries has spanned to many areas, and recently e-commerce has become one such sector.

The envoy has personally participated in several activities on China's livestreaming apps to sell local specialties which saw a robust sales growth after his recommendation.

He told the Global Times that they are aware that the digital economy plays a very significant role in the world economy, and Rwanda has invested heavily in technology for the digital economy. 

According to the ambassador, many Chinese companies have come to Rwanda to develop a digital economy which gives Rwanda's products access to the Chinese market. 

"I should have mentioned that even though e-commerce was a tool before the COVID-19 era, now because of this pandemic it has become even more important. We think this is a space that is going to expand. Rwanda is looking forward to continuing working with China and Chinese companies to make sure that people have access to these tools, and people can order all these products online and are able to transfer money online," he said.

He revealed that they are going to implement a project with Huawei which is called smart education. This is a project which is going to connect about 6,000 schools so that they can have access to internet and teaching materials, which were initially difficult for them to access. "This is a very important project. Huawei is there ensuring that there is access to information, which is very key when you talk about e-commerce," he noted.

"We are comfortable with Huawei and other Chinese companies that are developing the internet system, the intelligence and other things that we want," he told the Global Times.

While some Western media outlets have tried to smear the cooperation between China and Africa, and some have even claimed Chinese projects are facing backlash in Africa, the ambassador stressed during the interview that China has never imposed upon any African country that he knows of. 

"China has always invested in and supported projects that are based on the country's national priorities. So the issue of backlash, for me, is just ridiculous. It has no standing in any political discourse because you don't have any reason whatsoever to say that the Chinese projects are receiving backlash," he said.

"It's a campaign against China which I don't like, because we work with Chinese companies and we've seen what China has done. We have no issues with China and China has never imposed any project."

According to him, China comes to Africa to help Africa bridge the infrastructure gap, which is very important for economies. China comes in handy in terms of supporting infrastructure, road, supply, and so on. 

"The accusations against China have no basis whatsoever," he said. 

As for the "debt trap" accusation, the ambassador said they don't borrow money senselessly; they don't just borrow money and then squander it. 

"We borrow money for the projects that contributed to the economy and the changing of lives. African countries think, plan, and want to shape our destiny and we know the projects we need. Frankly speaking, the African continent is content with its cooperation with China," he said.

Practices to learn

The ambassador said what the CPC has done and continues to do for China is unparalleled in the history of political parties, because this is a party that has saved this country from misery and despair to prosperity. 

"The numbers speak for themselves. Lifting more than 800 million people from poverty is not a joke. It's not only a contribution to China, but also a contribution to the world. In just a little over 40 years, this country jumped to where it is today," he said. 

According to the ambassador, there are so many best practices that other peoples can learn from the CPC and from China. One best practice is strategies of poverty eradication. Initially the idea of poverty reduction was just making sure that people get better homes and out of terrible living conditions. 

But China looks at it from a broader perspective - health and education. When you have access to education, then the poverty reduction is going to be taken care of. And that's a model that helps so many other countries that are struggling in that process. 

The second and equally critical point is the economic model. Additionally, this is the type of governance system and appointing the right people to the right positions is also important. 

"We like the approach that China says we cannot teach you a lesson and we don't want to teach you a lesson, but we can share our experience, which is a very humble way of helping someone with a lot of humility," he told the Global Times.

At the end of the interview, he expressed best wishes for the upcoming 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, saying that they are assured of the safety and smooth running of the games.