Mohamed El Hacen Labatt, former foreign minister of Mauritania, praised China's long-standing support for Africa.

"Among all the great powers in the world, China is the most helpful, most decisive and the more efficient in supporting Africa," he said at the first China-Africa Human Rights Seminar in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital.

"How many airports, how many streets, how many roads, how many hospitals, how many universities, and how many stadiums has China built in all African countries and how many others have built?" he asked.