Amina Mohammed today urged an African Union summit to take advantage of China's "Belt and Road" project, which aims to build a new "Silk Road" of ports, railways and roads to expand trade across Asia, Africa and Europe.
China's largest-ever foreign initiative has made governments including Russia, the United States and India uneasy that Beijing is using it to gain political influence.
The initiative calls for global partners to invest more in Africa's infrastructure.
The Japanese prime minister's special adviser, Okamura Yoshifumi, told The Associated Press he wouldn't say Mohammed's comment was appropriate, but he said he didn't want to criticize it because it is a project that will benefit Africans.