China, Ghana work closely to tackle illegal mining

ACCRA - China and Ghana are working closely to properly handle the issue of Chinese nationals engaged in illegal gold mining in the West African country, a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday.

Gong Jianzhong, the Chinese ambassador to Ghana, told a press conference that the issue of Chinese nationals involved in illegal mining activities in Ghana was a disharmony in the course of development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

Gong said China attached great importance to the issue and had dispatched two working groups in March and June to Ghana to hold discussions and consultations with the Ghanaian side to find ways to settle the concern.

"This fully embodies the Chinese government's sincerity and determination to resolve this issue," he said, expressing belief that, through joint efforts, the problem would be properly solved.

Last month, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama launched an inter-ministerial task force on illegal mining to arrest, prosecute and deport any foreign nationals found in small-scale mining in Ghana and to punish the locals involved.

Many foreign nationals, including hundreds of Chinese workers, engaging in illegal mining were arrested early in the month and detained by Ghanaian security forces.

A Chinese work team comprising officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, commerce and public security arrived in Ghana last week to discuss issues concerned with Chinese nationals affected in the crackdown.

Qiu Xuejun, head of the Chinese work team, said officials of the two countries had fruitful deliberations on the matter and that both Ghana and China agreed to communicate and cooperate to fight the canker.

"We are confident that by working closely together, the issue of illegal small-scale gold mining can be resolved in due course and in amicable and effective manner," he said.

Qiu urged Chinese in Ghana to abide by the laws of the country, operate their businesses within the boundary of the law and stop illegal mining activities, saying Beijing always encourages Chinese nationals abroad to obey the laws of the resident country.

"We also ask the Chinese residents here to help each other to abide by the laws with Ghana," he said.

Qiu said China opposes any illegal activities by its nationals in Ghana, while calling on the Ghanaian government to respect and protect the legal rights of Chinese citizens.

He also appealed to Ghanaian security agencies to halt attacks and robbery of Chinese miners.

Ghana was one of the first sub-Saharan African countries to establish diplomatic relations with China 53 years ago.

According to statistics from the Chinese Embassy in Accra, trade volume between China and Ghana registered $5.434 billion in 2012, an increase of 56.5 percent over the previous year.

The number of newly registered Chinese investment projects topped Ghana's FDI list in 2012.