There is a misinformed notion that Africa's rise is being hijacked by China. There are claims that at the very moment when South Africa, for example, has found the momentum to emerge as a developing economy amidst the budding continent, its resources and talent are routinely exploited by a nation undertaking a "no strings attached" integration policy, one serving as the root of US investment trepidation.

Our best chance of growth, they claim, is being cut away from us by the Chinese, who want to prune it before it can flower.

This is of course nonsense.

China is no doubt in Africa and they are looking for business and win-win partnerships. But China's trade and investment is to be welcomed. If Africa is to continue its awakening, it needs to connect with the economic giants, and China is one of the best partners we could hope for. After over 400 years of colonialism, most of every new energy power station, hospital, school, roadway, water purification center, railway, port or food security enterprise has been funded and built by China in unique partnership with African countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in December the concept of our strategic partnership. Moreover, its ability to flourish through governance offering guidance, business playing a lead role and such win-win cooperation promoted throughout multilateral engagements in Africa to date and in future.

I have often participated in similar forums in Beijing, Shanghai and at home in Johannesburg, bringing together officials and business leaders to discuss the role of Chinese policy and investment. It has been enlightening and encouraging to hear about the good that China has done for Africa, and the ambitious plans it has for the years to come. Since my country joined BRICS in Sanya, China, we have seen the partnership blossom.

It is true that there have been tensions in the relationship. But officials from China have been at pains to reassure that Chinese companies will strictly abide by local laws and regulations, hold themselves accountable for the quality of their projects, goods and to consumers, and "shoulder due responsibility" for local communities and the environment.

The reality is that China has been a vital catalyst in African growth in recent years and this cannot be overlooked. China's trade with Africa has overtaken that of the traditional partners, Europe and the US. China-Africa trade is now worth $300 billion, with more than 2,500 Chinese companies operating on the continent.

Take Nigeria, where trade with China in 1994 was $90 million but by 2000, it had climbed to about $830 million. Last year, it was $15 billion.

And in the resource-rich country, energy is a key area where Chinese expertise can help.

At the end of last year, China and the African Union agreed on an ambitious plan to develop road, rail and air transport routes to link capitals across the continent and social responsibility has been encouraged.

Indeed Takyiwaa Manuh, director of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, commented that Chinese firms will be doing much more in the sectors of infrastructure development and importantly, alongside it, technical education and training as part of a necessary "soft infrastructure" approach to support lasting economic modernization and industrialization.

No doubt a well-functioning road network will bring trade to cities and villages across the continent, helping African countries enhance their connectivity and break their development bottleneck. And while China has already completed 1,046 projects in Africa, building 2,233 kilometers of railways, 3,530 kilometers of roads and over 132 schools and hospitals, such "soft infrastructure" initiatives will allow for sustainable development to be a mutually-beneficial realization, as fostered by Sino-African relations.

Thirty years ago, China was just embarking on its program of economic reforms under then leader Deng Xiaoping. Slowly but steadily, Deng's reforms opened China to foreign investment and the global market, and encouraged private competition. They eventually turned China into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world for over 35 years and raising the standard of living of hundreds of millions of its citizens. Surely we can learn from China's example and support an agenda with accountable benchmarks to enhance a shared ascendancy.

The author is an acclaimed entrepreneur and Founder and Executive Chairman of South Africa's Guma Group of Companies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn Follow us on Twitter @GTopinion