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President Nana Akufo-Addo has said that the relationship between Ghana and China will ultimately benefit the West African country’s economy by expanding its infrastructural needs.

“We know we must get our population educated and trained, and we are setting about it.

“We must address our infrastructural deficit. The traditional methods of tackling this problem will not provide the answer.

“We are looking for new ways to resolve it. Ghana, like many countries in Africa, is forging relations with China to make arrangements to help address part of our infrastructure deficit,” Mr Akufo-Addo said in his address at the 73rd UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, 26 September 2018.

The Ghanaian leader added that the relationship between China and Ghana as far as development is concerned, “is not a uniquely Ghanaian or African phenomenon”.

“It has not been lost on us that the developed, rich and well-established countries have been paying regular visits to China, and seeking to open new economic ties and improve upon existing ones.

“It is also not lost on us that a lot of anxiety is being expressed about the possibility of a re-colonisation of the African continent by a new power.

“We should, indeed, learn from history. It was at the turn of the 20th century that China’s first railways were built by Western companies, financed by Western loans to a nearly bankrupt Qing Dynasty, and it was under those circumstances that a certain strategic port called Hong Kong was leased for 99 years, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history”.

“Today, the former victim of Western Railways imperialism is lending billions to countries throughout Asia, Africa and Europe to construct not only railroads, but also highways, ports, power plants and other infrastructure, and many businesses. The historical echoes are certainly worrisome, but, yes, surely, we must and can learn from history.

“We, in Ghana, must build roads, bridges, railways, ports, schools, hospitals, and we must create jobs to keep our young people engaged. It is obvious to us that the development trajectory we had been on for many decades is not working. We are trying a different one, and we would appreciate the support and goodwill of the world, especially in helping to stem the huge flow of illicit funds from the continent,” he concluded.