Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dec 4, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping has just concluded a fruitful visit to Africa, during which he attended the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation where he announced an array of concrete plans for common development.

Closer ties between China and Africa cater to the interests of both sides and will contribute to regional and world development. However, some in the West have again pointed a finger at China accusing it of neocolonialism in Africa.

In recent years, each time China and Africa have reached out to each other and deepened their reciprocal interaction such groundless accusations have flared up, laying bare the West's long-standing bias against the strong friendship between China and Africa.

The friendship between China and African countries was forged more than six decades ago. Over the years, the two sides have helped and trusted each other. Such a strong bond is time-honored and unbreakable.

Today, the tree of friendship has grown up and begun to bear bountiful fruit:

Statistics show the two-way trade exceeded $221.9 billion in 2014, a 22-fold increase over the figure in 2000. At the same time, Chinese investments in Africa have accumulated to $30 billion, a 60-fold increase, and the share of Africa's trade in the continent's total foreign trade has increased from 3.82 percent to 20.5 percent.

To date, China has completed 1,046 projects in Africa. Thanks to China's financial support, an estimated 5,675 kilometers of railways and 4,506.9 km of roads have either been built or were under construction across Africa by September this year, along with other facilities such as schools and hospitals.