The African Development Bank (AfDB) should continue to play a significant role in fostering economic development, poverty reduction and social progress in the African countries, said Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China and member of the board governors of the People's Republic of China in AfDB.

He was speaking at the 41st annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the 32nd annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund (ADF), held from May 17-18 last year in the city of Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso.

He further stressed that the AfDB should help the African nations achieve a proper balance among reform, development and stability, and focus on resolving existing problems in the agricultural industry and rural areas. Realization of poverty reduction in the African nations should be based on economic development, he noted.

More than 2,000 participants, including finance ministers and central bank governors of the AfDB's African and non-African member countries, as well as representatives of international financial institutions, non-government organisations and news agencies, attended the meetings.

In his statement at the AfDB's annual meeting, Governor Zhou acknowledged the progress made by African nations in recent years in improving the macro-economic situation in the region, and called on African countries to pay attention to the great challenges that remained in the road to economic development.

In response to the groundless accusation made by some individuals and sections of the media that China's only interest lies in the natural resources of African nations and not in economic cooperation with them, Governor Zhou said the Chinese government has always attached great importance to developing friendly cooperation with the African nations, and supports the AfDB in playing a leading role in promoting the economic growth of African countries.

He stressed that the AfDB should play a meaningful role in facilitating cooperation, not only between the north and south, but also between the south and south.

Prospects are bright for bilateral cooperation between the Asian and African countries, despite the fact that many problems and misunderstandings also exist.

The AfDB could serve as a bridge between the two sides to improve communication and resolve the difference.

The strategic partnership China intends to build with African countries should be complementary in nature and based on mutual benefit.

There is great potential for strengthening bilateral cooperation in the fields of resource development, textile industry and infrastructure building.

China and Africa should work together to build a cooperative framework ensuring mutual trust on both sides, the governor said.

The Chinese government has emphasized its support to the African countries and the AfDB by committing to host the annual meetings of the AfDB in 2007. It has great confidence in being able to work together with the AfDB to ensure the meetings are a complete success.