The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has been underway this week in Beijing, Sept 4 to 6. Chinese and African leaders have discussed issues such as “joining hands to advance modernization and build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future”.
They have mapped out the future for China and Africa and the way forward for cooperation. This summit was China’s most significant home diplomacy event in recent years and was attended by many foreign leaders. The summit had 55 attendees, including China, 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, and the African Union Commission. More than 50 African heads of state attended the summit.
On Thursday, President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the forum summit, proposing to elevate China’s bilateral relations with all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China to a strategic relationship level and elevate the overall positioning of China-Africa relations to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. He proposed that China and Africa should work together to promote six modernizations: fairness and rationality, openness and win-win, people first, diversity and inclusiveness, eco-friendliness, and peace and security. Xi pointed out that China and Africa account for one-third of the world’s population. Without the modernization of China and Africa, there will be no world modernization. In the next three years, China is willing to work with Africa to carry out 10 significant China-Africa partnership actions to jointly promote modernization, deepen China-Africa cooperation, and lead the modernization of the Global South. These include the partnership action for mutual learning among civilizations, the trade and prosperity partnership action, the industrial chain partnership action, the connectivity partnership action, the cooperation partnership action, the health partnership action, the partnership action to promote agriculture and benefit the people, the people-to-people exchange partnership action, the green development partnership action, and the partnership action to build security. To promote the implementation of the 10 partnership actions, the Chinese government will provide financial support of 360 billion yuan ($50.7 billion) in the next three years. It is no exaggeration to say that this summit has pushed China-Africa cooperation to unprecedented heights.
In recent years, under China’s active leadership and promotion, China-Africa cooperation in all aspects has reached new heights and achieved laudable results. “Consultation, co-construction, and sharing” are the basic principles guiding China-Africa cooperation. The continuous deepening and expansion of cooperation between China and Africa greatly benefit each other’s development and mutual prosperity. In the 24 years since the forum was established, China-Africa trade volume has increased more than 20 times, and China’s investment in Africa has increased more than 100 times.
As early as more than 10 years ago, American scholar Deborah Brautigam conducted in-depth and detailed research into China’s economic and aid activities in Africa and published her findings in her book The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa (2011). She provided many real-life examples detailing China’s efforts to promote the development of African countries, eradicate poverty, and promote people’s well-being. She affirmed that China’s efforts and actions incontrovertibly contributed to Africa’s modernization.
From a political perspective, China-Africa unity and cooperation strengthen South-South cooperation, enlarge China’s influence and voice in Africa, lead other countries to increase cooperation with Africa and make the Global South more influential internationally, especially in international organizations such as the United Nations. These developments have injected a strong impetus into global peace and development and reduced the destruction and damage caused to the world by the hegemony of the United States. At the same time, with the support of African countries, China’s status and role as a leader in the Global South have become more prominent and consolidated, giving China more confidence and strength to compete with and counter the containment, encirclement, and isolation of the US-led West, and enabling China’s Belt and Road Initiative to continue to achieve progress and results. It can be said that the unrelenting strengthening and expansion of China-Africa cooperation has an enormous impact on the global political landscape and is also conducive to the reform, reshaping, and progress of the international order and international institutions.
The US and its allies have a rather negative attitude toward the strengthening China-Africa cooperation. American strategic scholars often analyze the China-Africa relationship and China’s relationship with the Global South from the perspective of conspiracy and cynicism, and assert that China’s purpose is not only to “plunder” Africa’s natural resources but also to carry out “neocolonialism” and set up “debt traps”. They also accuse China of aiming at destroying and overthrowing the so-called “liberal international order” led by the US with the support of the Global South, thereby seriously damaging the interests of the US and the West. They are more worried that due to the declining influence of the US and the West in Africa in recent years, China will have more opportunities to bring Africa into China’s sphere of influence, seriously changing the global balance of power to the disadvantage of the West.
China-Africa unity and cooperation strengthen South-South cooperation, enlarge China’s influence and voice in Africa, lead other countries to increase cooperation with Africa and make the Global South more influential internationally, especially in international organizations such as the United Nations. These developments have injected a strong impetus into global peace and development and reduced the destruction and damage caused to the world by the hegemony of the United States
Behind the criticism and resentment of China-Africa cooperation in the US and the West is their belief that Africa’s strategic importance to them will rise in the years ahead. Therefore, they cannot accept that US influence in Africa is increasingly lagging behind China’s, for that would eventually undermine the US’ global hegemony and jeopardize its development and interests. In recent years, American strategic scholars have continuously urged Washington to ramp up investment in and assistance to Africa to compete with and counter China. However, Africa has not been the focus of US diplomatic and military strategy for a long time. The US strategic focus has always been on Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region. American strategists have long sidelined Africa. During the Cold War, to prevent the spread of the Soviet Union’s power and communism in Africa, the US occasionally intervened in the internal affairs of some African countries and provided them with economic assistance. At the same time, China’s operations and activities in Africa did not receive much attention from the US. US enterprises’ involvement in Africa was also not impressive. After the end of the Cold War, Russia’s economic assistance and influence in Africa went down significantly. Accordingly, Africa’s strategic value to the US also dropped considerably. This is shown clearly in the limited aid to Africa by the US. However, with the rise of China and the ever-closer cooperation between China and Africa in many fields, the US is increasingly apprehensive about the expansion of China’s status and influence in Africa and is actively seeking ways to counterbalance it. However, for some reason, it is difficult for the US to defeat China in its fight for Africa.
First, the US policy toward Africa is based primarily on pursuing its geopolitical interests and is deficient in concern and care for the African people. Therefore, promoting the feelings and connections between the US and African countries is difficult. Second, the US has few resources that it can and is willing to invest in Africa. And it has a limited impact on the development of African countries. Third, the US has launched coups or proxy wars in some African countries in the past, which has impaired the relationship between the US and the African people. Fourth, the economic exchanges between the US, the West, and Africa are characterized by many unfair and unequal transactions that smack of neocolonialism. Fifth, African countries desperately need various infrastructure, especially transportation and communication systems, but the US cannot meet those requirements. Finally, the assistance provided by the US and US-led international institutions to African countries often comes with political strings attached, including demands that those countries adopt Western-style democracy and institutions, and abide by the rules of the economic game set by the West, grossly interfering in their internal affairs and infringing upon their rights and sovereignty. None of these are conducive to cooperation and mutual trust between the US and Africa.
China’s approach to and handling of African relations differ drastically from the US’. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, it has steadfastly attached great importance to the strategic value of Africa and the relationship between Africa and China. This is reflected in the frequent visits by national leaders to African countries and China’s generous assistance to Africa even in tough economic times. The Tazara Railway, built in the 1970s, is one of the best examples. Both the Chinese people and the African people have experienced the ravages of Western imperialism and colonialism in the past. Africa’s experience has been particularly tragic, which is vividly reflected in the slavery system that was run by the West. These shared humiliating experiences have extensively fostered shared feelings and mutual trust between the Chinese and African people. African countries, like China, find the unfair and predatory nature of the so-called “liberal international order” crafted by the US repugnant. China and Africa share common aspirations and missions in building a new international order. What is particularly important is that China regards Africa as a partner with a shared destiny, treats Africa as an equal, sincerely cares about the well-being of the African people, delivers generous assistance to Africa, respects the sovereignty of African countries, never interferes in their internal affairs, and does not impose its development model, political and economic system on them, thereby winning the trust and friendship of the African people.
In November 2021, China published the white paper “China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals”, which cogently enunciates China’s principles on China-Africa cooperation. These principles can be condensed into the “four insistences” and the “five nos”. The “four insistences” are to adhere to sincerity, friendship and equal treatment; to comply with justice and interests and put justice first; to adhere to development for the people, pragmatism and efficiency; and to adhere to openness and inclusiveness. The “five nos” signify that China will not tamper with African countries’ exploration of development paths compatible with their national conditions; will not interfere in Africa’s internal affairs; will not impose its will on others; will not attach any political conditions to its aid to Africa; and will not seek political gain in its investment and financing of projects in Africa. China’s broadminded and generous policy toward Africa has proved effective and sustainable. Also, it explains why the US cannot gain recognition and support from Africa, no matter how hard it tries.
In general, the successful convening and outcomes of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation demonstrate the continuous improvement of China’s status and influence in Africa, and confirm that the starting point and foothold of China’s policy toward Africa is correct and valid. Looking to the future, China-Africa cooperation will continue to move forward, injecting an endless impetus into peace and development in China, Africa and the world.
The author is a professor emeritus of sociology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a consultant for the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
