BEIJING - China has significantly contributed to Africa's economic growth and improvements in the livelihood of African people, a spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing that China-Africa cooperation is based on the principles of mutual benefit and common development.

She also stressed that China is wholeheartedly welcomed by its friends in Africa.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, South African President Jacob Zuma advised Western businesses and governments to resist cautioning others against China's embrace and rethink their own investment strategies or risk losing out even more to accelerating competition from China and other developing powers.

Hua said Zuma's remarks show that if people want to win in a competition, they should improve themselves before criticizing others.