IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Military

135 peacekeepers depart for Mali

A 135-strong group peacekeeping troops left Harbin for Mali on Dec 3, the first time China's army has sent security forces as part of a peacekeeping mission.

At the request of the United Nations, the People's Liberation Army sent the troops, made up of 35 engineers, 65 medical workers and 35 soldiers, to join the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali for eight months.

The Chinese peacekeepers, all from a Harbin-based contingent, will be tasked with repairing roads and bridges, safeguarding peace and stability, and providing medical assistance. This is China's 30th UN peacekeeping mission since 1990.

More than 25,000 Chinese military personnel, police and civil affairs officials have participated in UN peacekeeping missions in 10 mission areas, making China the biggest contributor to such missions among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Investment

Fund keen to speed up investment in Africa

The China-Africa Development Fund, which has already invested in more than 70 projects in Africa, said it is speeding up investment activities on the African continent, including in manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture among others.

Speaking at the African High-Growth Markets Summit on Dec 2 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Wang Yong, CADFund vice-president, noted that the fund has already invested in 72 projects covering about 30 different countries.

Wang said that the major sectors the fund has invested include manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, industry parks and resource development.

The two-day summit was designed for business leaders and investors looking to understand how to tackle both the obstacles of investing in emerging African economies and of reaching consumers, entrepreneurs and policy-makers with a stake in driving growth in Africa, according to the organizers.

Trade

South Africa and China sign MoU

South Africa and China signed a memorandum of understanding on Dec 3 to strengthen political and economic relations between the two countries.

The MoU was signed in Johannesburg by Minister of Public Enterprises Malusi Gigaba at a meeting with Huang Shuhe, the vice-chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of China.

"In 2010, South Africa and China entered into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership particularly to strengthen political and economic relations as well as to improve the current trade structure between the two countries. Today's meeting and MoU signing is an attempt the further to give impetus to this Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," Gigaba said after the signing ceremony.

Agriculture

Support for cotton producing countries

China will expand its cooperation program with the group of four major African cotton-producing countries, or the C4, trade officials from the two sides announced at the sidelines of the 9th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Bali on Dec 3.

China is moving one step further in promoting the capacity of the C4 countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali, in production, processing and logistics cooperation of the cotton industry, said Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng at a news briefing.

Health

AIDS and HIV striking younger people

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is hitting Chinese at a younger age, and the country's leaders have called for efforts to fight the disease to be stepped up.

The proportion of those living with HIV/AIDS who are young almost doubled between 2008 and 2012, and gay sex is considered a major reason for the increase, said Shang Hong, director of the HIV/AIDS key laboratory under the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

China has detected 434,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, the commission says, and more than 3,000 are between 15 and 18. From January to September, newly detected cases stood at about 70,000, and nearly 90 percent were transmitted sexually.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/06/2013 page2)