Photo: AFP/Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan
Alexandra Zoltai
20/09/2024 06:00
In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of this year's FOCAC summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that bilateral relations between China and all African countries with diplomatic relations with China be upgraded to the level of strategic relations. In his speech, Xi stressed that modernisation is "the inalienable right of all countries", saying there will be no global modernisation without the modernisation of China and Africa, adding that China and Africa's joint modernisation drive will trigger a wave of modernisation in the global south and open a new chapter in building a community with a shared future for humanity. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stressed that China and Africa must work in a spirit of cooperation and partnership. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said China's partnership with the African continent is a key pillar of South-South cooperation.
To realize the vision of modernization, Xi proposed 10 partnership actions to be implemented over the next three years, covering the areas of mutual learning between civilizations, trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, connectivity, development cooperation, health, agriculture and livelihoods, people-to-people links, people-to-culture exchanges, green development and common security. China has also pledged 360 billion yuan (about 51 billion dollars) in financial support to implement these measures.
Economists say these partnerships are an effective fit with Africa's modernisation goals. For example, to boost trade, China is voluntarily and unilaterally opening up its markets more widely. China has also decided to grant tariff exemptions to all LDCs with diplomatic relations with China, including 33 African countries. The move is expected to greatly facilitate the two-way flow of Chinese and African products and help strengthen the position of African products in international trade.
China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the 15th consecutive year, while the share of Sino-African trade in Africa's total external trade has been steadily increasing.
The FOCAC 2024 clearly demonstrates China's growing commitment to Africa's modernisation and economic development. The 10 partnership measures announced during the summit, as well as the 360 billion yuan in financial support, demonstrate that Beijing is not only focusing on trade and investment, but also wants to contribute to Africa's sustainable development with comprehensive strategic objectives.
The author is a researcher at the Eurasia Center