China is an important and a great partner in developing Africa, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) said in Berlin on Monday.

Under the topic of "How can G20 members support and push the development of African states?" at the German-African Business Association,  Akinwumi Adesina, president of the AfDB said "China is very important" and "China is a great partner."

Adesina said, "AfDB has a special relationship with China on investment in African private sectors."

The African Union Conference Center, headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is one of the biggest aid projects built by China. /Xinhua Photo

He evaluated China's investment in Africa as "massive" and those in African infrastructure as "particularly important".

Adesina said China has a 2-billion-US-dollar facility, Africa Growing Together Fund, which with the AfDB co-finances development projects in the continent.

"So China is very important (in Africa)", said the president. 

Adesina said China's experience in developing special economic zones in Africa is "a great success". He cited Ethiopia as an example, where Chinese companies have invested in transforming leather into footwear and other industries.

July 12, 1973: Local people of Mbeya, Tanzania welcome the Chinese team working on the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA). China dispatched more than 50,000 workers for the construction of the project completed in five years and eight months. /Xinhua Photo

"So China is a great partner," Adesina said, adding that he looks forward to increasing cooperation with China under the framework of G20, in order to explore more investment opportunities in Africa.

To this point, Stefan Liebling, chairman of the German-African Business Association, added that G20 members can learn from China in terms of investing in Africa.

(Source: Xinhua)