Chinese, African leaders hold summit on deepening bilateral cooperation

Dozens of African leaders have descended on Beijing for a summit that signals China's influence in a continent that it hopes will be a key ally in pushing back against a U.S.-led global order.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to the assembled leaders Thursday that relations with all African countries that have diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the strategic level.

We have always understood and supported each other, setting an example for a new type of international relations," he said at the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

China has become a major player in Africa since the forum was founded in 2000. Its companies have invested heavily in mining for the resources Chinese industry needs and its development banks have made loans to build railways, roads and other infrastructure under Xi's Belt and Road program.

China has become sub-Saharan Africa's largest bilateral trading partner but exports much more to the continent than it imports. In part