China says it is among Africa's best friends

Addressing a meeting of the African Development Bank in Shanghai, he urged rich nations to help the continent with aid, trade and debt relief.

He also stressed China's commitment to helping the continent develop socially and economically.

China has faced criticism that it is o­nly interested in Africa because of its huge wealth of raw materials.

It was recently accused of breaching a UN embargo by continuing to supply arms to Sudan - a key supplier of its oil - to the troubled region of Darfur.

Beijing rejected the claims - but has since appointed a special envoy to focus o­n the Darfur situation.

No strings

This is the first time that the annual meeting of the ADB has been held in Asia - a sign of China's growing importance for the continent, say analysts.

"Africa needs to rely o­n itself to sustain development but international support and systems are also indispensable," Mr Wen told delegates at the start of the meeting o­n Wednesday.

"We call o­n the international community to deliver o­n aid pledges to Africa and reduce and cancel African debt."

Mr Wen also called for increased market access and technology transfers.

"We are truly sincere in helping Africa speed up economic and social development for the benefit of the African people and its nations," he said.

This is an implicit rejection of criticism that China is o­nly interested in Africa because of its resources, the BBC's Quentin Somerville in Shanghai says.

China gets about a third of its oil from African countries, as well as other natural resources. They have helped fuel the country's dramatic economic transformation.

More than 700 Chinese companies are active in Africa. China's trade with the continent has quadrupled in the past six years to $55bn (£28bn).

China has already written off almost $1.5bn in debt to Africa and says it will write off a similar amount again.

However, Beijing has been criticised for its no-strings lending policy, which critics say supports repressive regimes and hinders good governance o­n the continent.