BEIJING – China-Africa friendship is in its prime, according to a white paper issued by China's State Council Information Office on Friday detailing the country's cooperation with Africa in the new era.
Titled "China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals", the document shared past experiences and similar aims and goals have brought China and Africa close together.
The white paper detailed a range of areas of China-Africa cooperation which include rapidly expanding economic cooperation, growing cooperation on social development, people-to-people and cultural exchanges and expanding cooperative partnership for peace and security.
FULL TEXT: China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals
The fruitful results of China-Africa cooperation can be seen across the continent. It has improved the conditions for economic and social development in Africa and brought tangible benefits to people in both China and Africa, it said.
China is committed to consolidating China-Africa political mutual trust, expanding pragmatic cooperation with Africa in various areas, and extending its help to boost peace and development in the continent
On mutual political trust, the white paper said since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China and African countries have always been good friends who stand together through prosperity and adversity, good partners who share weal and woe, and good comrades who fully trust each other in a shifting international landscape.
Developing solidarity and cooperation with African countries has been the cornerstone of China's foreign policy, as well as a firm and longstanding strategy, said the white paper.
Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the principles of China's Africa policy – sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, and pursuing the greater good and shared interests, charting the course for China's cooperation with Africa, and providing the fundamental guidelines, the white paper said.
It noted that the dual successes of the Johannesburg Summit in 2015 and the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2018 pushed China-Africa cooperation to a new and unprecedented high.
China and African countries will continue to set the pace of cooperation through FOCAC, support the Belt and Road Initiative, bring the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership to a higher level, and deliver a brighter future together, the white paper said.
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President Xi and African leaders unanimously decided at the FOCAC Beijing Summit that the two sides would work to build an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future, advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, establishing a new milestone in China-Africa relations, said the white paper.
Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 and delivers a keynote speech at the summit in Beijing, China, June 17, 2020. (HUANG JINGWEN / XINHUA)
China and Africa trust each other and China-Africa friendship is rock-solid, the white paper said. It added that China is committed to consolidating China-Africa political mutual trust, expanding pragmatic cooperation with Africa in various areas, and extending its help to boost peace and development in the continent.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Xi has talked by phone with African state leaders on 17 occasions, maintaining close high-level contacts and exchanges with his African counterparts
China is promoting cooperation with Africa in social fields such as poverty reduction, health, education, science and technology, environmental protection, climate change and exchanges among young people and women, it said.
China and African countries have embraced further exchanges in culture, media, science and technology, and think tanks, and facilitated dialogues among youth and women, it said.
China now has diplomatic relations with 53 African countries, with the sole exception of Eswatini, it said, adding that over the past years, more African countries have joined the extended family of China-Africa friendship.
China restored ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations with The Gambia on March 17, 2016, with Sao Tome and Principe on December 26, 2016, and with Burkina Faso on May 26, 2018.
STANDING FIRMLY TOGETHER
China and Africa have always stood firmly together at critical junctures and on major issues. African countries have provided important support for China's endeavors to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests, promote reunification, and achieve national rejuvenation through development.
China has firmly supported African countries in realizing national independence, following development paths that fit their national conditions, promoting regional integration, and strengthening themselves through unity, it said.
Confronted by COVID-19, China and Africa have withstood a severe challenge, helping each other and fighting side by side to defeat the pandemic through solidarity and cooperation, it said.
COMMUNITY OF SHARED FUTURE
China and Africa have stood together in success and adversity, setting an example for building a global community of shared future, according to the white paper.
The principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the principles of pursuing the greater good and shared interests epitomize China's policy to Africa. They are the overarching guiding principles for China in building up solidarity and cooperation with developing countries, including those in Africa, the white paper explained.
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Over the years, China has formed a distinctive approach to win-win cooperation with Africa, said the white paper, adding that the approach is in line with the traditional Chinese philosophy, "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you."
HIGH-LEVEL EXCHANGES
High-level exchanges play an important role in developing China-Africa relations, according to the white paper.
In March 2013, Chinese President Xi visited Africa, his first official overseas visit after assuming the office of president. To date he has made four visits to different locations across the continent, it said.
During the FOCAC Summit in Beijing in 2018, Xi had one-on-one meetings with more than 50 African leaders, renewing friendships, exploring cooperation, and discussing the future. He also attended close to 70 bilateral and multilateral events. After the summit, 17 African leaders came to China for state visits or meetings, according to the document.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Xi has talked by phone with African state leaders on 17 occasions, maintaining close high-level contacts and exchanges with his African counterparts.
Xi has always treated African friends as equals, and fostered solid friendships and profound trust with African leaders. This head-of-state diplomacy has guided China-Africa relations to steady and sustained prosperity, the white paper read.
LARGEST TRADING PARTNER
China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the 12 years since 2009. The proportion of Africa's trade with China in the continent's total external trade has continued to rise, which exceeded 21 percent in 2020, said the white paper.
The structure of China-Africa trade is also improving, said the document, adding that there has been a marked increase in technology in China's exports to Africa, with the export of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products now accounting for more than 50 percent of the total.
COOPERATION UNDER BRI
China-Africa cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative has shown great resilience and vitality since the outbreak of COVID-19, helping anti-pandemic cooperation between the two sides, it said.
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More than 1,100 China-Africa joint programs have continued, and nearly 100,000 Chinese technicians and workers have remained at their posts during the pandemic.
By the end of 2020, direct investment of Chinese companies in Africa had surpassed $43 billion
Under the combined efforts of the two sides, a number of major projects have been completed or seen progress, said the white paper.
JOINT CLIMATE RESPONSE
China has signed 15 cooperation agreements with 14 African countries to jointly tackle climate change, according to the white paper.
Various approaches have been explored in support of Africa's response to the issue, such as implementing mitigation and adaptation programs, jointly setting up pilot low-carbon industrial parks, and conducting training in capacity-building, said the document.
CHINESE DIRECT INVESTMENT
By the end of 2020, direct investment of Chinese companies in Africa had surpassed $43 billion, according to the white paper.
China has established over 3,500 companies of various types across the continent. Private companies have gradually become the main investment force in Africa; more than 80 percent of their employees are locals, and they have directly and indirectly created millions of jobs, it said.
PLANS FOR FUTURE COOPERATION
A FOCAC meeting to be held at the end of November is expected to produce plans for friendly China-Africa cooperation in the next phase, the white paper said.
Hailing the meeting as an important diplomatic event for China and Africa to discuss cooperation plans and promote common development, the document said it will be of great importance in promoting post-pandemic economic recovery and development in Africa, China and the world at large.
Together the two sides will plan and discuss the outcomes to be adopted at the meeting regarding key areas including health, investment and trade, industrialization, agricultural modernization, climate change responses and digital economy, it added.
ELIMINATING DIGITAL DIVIDE
China is helping African countries eliminate the digital divide. Chinese companies have participated in a number of submarine cable projects connecting Africa and Europe, Asia, and the Americas, said the white paper.
They have cooperated with major African operators in achieving full basic coverage of telecommunications services in Africa, as well as built more than half of the continent's wireless sites and high-speed mobile broadband networks.
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More than 200,000 km of optical fiber has been laid, giving broadband internet access to 6 million households, and serving more than 900 million local people, it said.
CHINESE PEACEKEEPERS IN AFRICA
More than 80 percent of Chinese peacekeepers have been deployed in Africa since China first took part in UN peacekeeping operations in 1990, said the white paper.
Over 30,000 Chinese peacekeepers have been sent to Africa to perform tasks in 17 peacekeeping mission areas. More than 1,800 peacekeepers are currently performing missions in five of these areas –Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Abyei, South Sudan and Western Sahara, it added.
