(SHI YU / CHINA DAILY)

China, the world’s largest developing country, and Africa, the continent with the largest number of developing countries, share similar goals and tasks. 

But it was not until the second half of the 20th century that China and countries in Africa started exploring their own paths.

A few decades ago, the economic development of the two places was about the same level, with African countries starting to pull ahead of China.

However, the reform and opening-up policy initiated by China in the late 1970s ushered in a period of rapid economic growth at a time when African countries were mired in turbulence caused by structural adjustment programs and their processes of democratization. 

Now, as China has eliminated abject poverty and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, African nations remain largely underdeveloped.

Statistics from the World Bank indicate that even in early 2021, more than 30 African countries had a poverty rate higher than 30 percent, and nine out of 10 countries with the highest poverty rate in the world were in Africa.

It is fair to say that Africa is the last battleground in the global fight against poverty. 

There are multiple reasons for its predicament. 

Long-term colonization by European countries is the root cause. Their control over and exploitation of African economies deprived the continent of its economic independence. 

The 1980s, the period known as “Africa’s Lost Decade” due to the implementation of neo-liberal structural adjustment programs, is a case in point.

Although there are many platforms for cooperation between Africa and Western countries, such as the US-Africa Leaders Summit, the Africa-France Summit and the Africa-EU Partnership, they have not brought much-needed infrastructure and industrialization or effectively boosted development. 

Africa’s marginalization under the old world order exacerbated poverty and underdevelopment, which in turn lowered the continent’s status and voice on the global stage. 

There are also internal reasons behind Africa’s poverty. 

After gaining national independence, many African countries failed to diversify their resource-dependent economies, and the bulk of the profits from the sale of those resources flowed out of Africa.

Also, Western-style democracy established on poor economic foundations weakened the power of African governments. 

Long-term political turbulence, ethnic conflicts and border disputes have made it difficult for the continent to focus on economic development.

In addition, its weak infrastructure, lack of talent and capital shortfalls have impeded its economic growth.

For a long time, African countries have been unable to choose their own development paths due to the impositions of colonial rule. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, many countries which had gained national independence began the process of state-building. 

Some of them chose a socialist system to break the yoke of Western rule. 

However, by adopting either the “Middle Way” or non-scientific socialism, these countries did not reap prosperity and growth; instead, they witnessed the emergence of new contradictions and problems, which hampered development. 

African countries should neither “look to the West” nor “look to the East”. Instead, they must seek truth from facts while developing on their own terms. 

The essence of Pan-Africanism is confidence, independence and self-reliance, and what it pursues is the solidarity, development and prosperity of Africa. 

Upholding the spirit of Pan-Africanism, the African Union, or AU, which was founded in 2002 as a successor to the Organization of African Unity, established in 1963, aspires to realize sovereign independence of African countries and African unity. 

The AU’s 2063 Agenda, which has its roots in Pan-Africanism, aims to build “an Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics”. 

The spirit of Pan-Africanism is the same as the unyielding spirit of the Chinese nation. 

Enhancing communication between the spirit reflected in Chinese-style modernization and that of Pan-Africanism is not only relevant to the exchanges between the Chinese and African civilizations, but also provides a new solution for developing countries to alleviate poverty and achieve common development.

Also, it will bring win-win cooperation and offer a new paradigm for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Currently, interactions between Chinese and African civilizations are at the stage of idea exchange. The two sides are able to share their experience in fighting poverty, and bringing about modernization in theory and practice.

By blazing a unique path to modernization, China has declared the end to an era in which “the world must be shaped based on the Western model”. The mantra “modernization means Westernization” no longer holds. 

It has also proved that developing nations can find an alternative to the Western path and explore their own ways to modernize. 

The Chinese path may offer some inspiration for Africa, which has ancient civilizations, an open mind that is willing to try new things, and a strong creativity, thus helping the continent find its own path.

The author is executive director and a research fellow of the China-Africa Research Institute and contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.