DHAKA: China will not follow the path of ‘Western colonists’ in Africa, its foreign minister said during a five-nation tour of the continent, parrying criticism that his country’s hunger for resources has led to one-sided policies and damaging projects.

China is Africa’s biggest trade partner, and has sought to tap the region’s rich resources to fuel its own economic growth over the past two decades.

But Beijing’s involvement has been called ‘neo-colonial’ by some African leaders, who fear projects bring little benefit to local people, with materials and even labour being imported from China.

‘We absolutely will not take the old path of Western colonists, and we absolutely will not sacrifice Africa’s ecological environment and long-term interests,’ China foreign minister Wang Yi told Chinese Central Television while in Kenya.

His comments were published on the ministry’s website late on Sunday, The Straits Times publishes this report on Monday.

Beijing has previously said its cooperation with African nations covers farm, health and infrastructure-related projects.

BDST: 1530 HRS, JAN 12, 2015