The FOCAC summit showcased confidence in China-Africa unity and cooperation as the world undergoes rapid and unprecedented changes.
by Liu Xian, Mao Xiaojing
Leaders from China and Africa successfully convened the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), setting forth plans to enhance China-Africa cooperation in this new era.
The summit showcased confidence in China-Africa unity and cooperation as the world undergoes rapid and unprecedented changes. It was a bright moment, inspiring in its collective effort to build a community with a shared future for humankind, marking a new milestone in South-South cooperation.
Focused on cooperation, the summit was a breath of fresh air in a turbulent world.
Peace remains elusive in today's world, and some regions are shrouded in geopolitical conflict. Despite this, China-Africa relations are on the rise. Strengthening these ties benefits the people of both China and Africa and ensures global peace and stability.
The summit, devoid of geopolitical agendas or adversarial targets, was a testament to the fact that development and cooperation are the only viable paths forward. It demonstrated that confrontation leads nowhere and underscored the depth of a community with a shared future for humanity.
The summit underscored the principle that unity prevails over division and cooperation over confrontation. It presents China's solution to the world's pressing challenges, inspiring a sense of unity and shared responsibility among all nations.
The summit emphasized equality, rekindling hope for correcting historical injustices. Both China and Africa, having endured colonial oppression, share the vision of an equal and multipolar world. Since gaining independence, China and Africa have made strides toward correcting these injustices in their modernization efforts. Throughout their partnership, China and Africa have treated each other as equals.
In China-Africa relations, no one is at the "table," and there's even less on the "menu." Chinese President Xi Jinping personally met with every visiting African head of state, a gesture of profound sincerity and unwavering commitment that sets China apart from many Western nations.
According to China's proposals laid out during FOCAC, "Not a single one should be left behind on the road to modernization, and not a single country should fall behind," a belief that has built political consensus between China and Africa.
The summit expanded opening-up and boosted confidence in promoting global common prosperity. At present, conservative and pan-security economic ideas are prevalent in the West. The momentum of "small yard and high wall" and "reversing tide of globalization" is worrying.
China has firmly pursued an open policy, safeguards the interests of developing countries, and takes the lead in opening its doors to Africa and other developing countries. China has decided to grant zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of tariff items of products from all least-developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, including 33 African countries. Thus, China has become the first major developing country and major world economy to implement such a measure.
China is committed to further reducing tariffs, providing exemptions, and implementing trade facilitation policies to open its doors even wider. China aims to achieve shared prosperity with other Global South countries and promote inclusive global development, boosting confidence and driving global prosperity.
The summit laid out a blueprint for joint China-Africa modernization efforts. The Beijing Declaration and an action plan, adopted at the summit, outlined six major propositions and 10 partnership initiatives to guide the next phase of China-Africa cooperation. These measures reflect the determination of both parties to pursue modernization together and offer a roadmap for future China-Global South collaboration.
The summit's outcomes are set to bolster Africa's development efforts with greater financing support. The financing issue is a prominent bottleneck that has long restricted African countries' economic development. To achieve lasting and favorable economic growth, key areas urgently need greater investment, such as education, energy, technology and innovation, and productive transportation infrastructure.
The African Economic Outlook 2024 of the African Development Bank predicts that by 2030, Africa's financing gap will be about 402 billion U.S. dollars per year. China's announcement of financing support of 360 billion yuan within three years, including various types of funds such as credit lines, government assistance and enterprise investment, reflects China's confidence in Africa's development prospects.
China's financing aligns with African countries' development strategies, focusing on connectivity, green development and livelihood projects and supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises to enhance Africa's infrastructure, business environment and employment.
In addition, China is diversifying its financing mechanisms. China and Africa agree to jointly discuss, build and share a global development project database and capital pool, and make good use of the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund to attract more private sector funds to Africa.
China also encourages and supports the African side in issuing "Panda bonds" denominated in RMB. Taking advantage of China's investment market and foreign exchange reserve advantages provides more diversified financing channels for Africa and avoids exchange rate risks from a single currency. China also supports the African side's investment business development or cross-border trade settlement in China and promotes the internationalization process of the RMB.
The summit's outcomes will help unlock Africa's development potential through more balanced two-way trade. African countries' development needs are undergoing structural changes. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has become more aware of the need to safeguard its own economic security. There is now a greater focus on enhancing internal driving forces and development capabilities to counter any unfavorable positions in globalization.
The countries of Africa are firmly committed to expediting the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area and creating a unified regional market. Africa has fully initiated the implementation plan for the second decade of the African Union's Agenda 2063, demonstrating its dedication to building an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful continent.
For several decades, China has expanded its opening-up policy, promoted trade liberalization, facilitated investment, and blazed a path of Chinese modernization. Africa is rich in natural resources, has the world's largest free trade area and has a vast market of 1.4 billion people. Like China, it is fully capable of charting its own development path.
China-Africa economic and trade cooperation is a crucial foundation of their collaboration, yielding significant recent results and fostering joint modernization efforts.
As Africa's largest bilateral investment and trade partner, China has continuously opened up its market. Since 2005, China has begun to implement duty-free treatment for some imported goods from the least developed countries in Africa. The scope of beneficiary commodities and covered countries is constantly expanding. This time, providing zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent of tariff items to least developed countries, including African countries, will better expand Africa's export channels, optimize trade and enable Africa's advantageous products to directly reach 1.4 billion Chinese consumers.
At the same time, it will also drive Chinese business models, such as those related to e-commerce and the digital economy, to help African countries improve their trade capabilities and better integrate into the global industrial and value chains.
The summit also advocated for more robust multilateral governance to support Africa's development. At present, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is more than halfway through, and the United Nations has pointed out that developing countries, including those in Africa, still have a long way to go to achieve the 2030 goals.
To achieve the goals and the African Union's Agenda 2063, Africa cannot rely on the strength of a few countries, nor can it simply rely on North-South cooperation or South-South cooperation. Only by adhering to genuine multilateralism, strengthening global governance, and building a global development partnership of unity, equality, balance, and inclusiveness can we gather a strong force to support Africa's development.
China believes in creating practical and efficient multilateral cooperation mechanisms. At the summit, China proposed strengthening communication with African countries within the frameworks of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, the "Group of 77 and China," the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and the Second Committee of the United Nations.
The country has also called for strengthening cooperation on poverty reduction, food security, climate change, connectivity, artificial intelligence, industrialization, and development financing.
China seeks to explore innovative solutions that promote inclusiveness and mutual learning while respecting differences. These initiatives aim to utilize the expertise of international organizations to support African countries in achieving inclusive and sustainable development.
China has been pushing for a coherent and coordinated multilateral financial system. It has called on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to reform the loan approval process and for stronger support for African countries to better utilize resources from multilateral development banks, such as the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the New Development Bank. With more abundant resources, African countries can obtain development financing more efficiently and safeguard the common interests of Global South countries.
As President Xi said, after nearly 70 years of hard work, China-Africa relations are at their best in history. Looking ahead, China will continue to work hand in hand with African countries in accordance with the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and promote the collective rise of the Global South.
The more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people will walk hand in hand on the journey of modernization, help the modernization of the Global South, create a new chapter in the history of human development, and jointly steer the world toward a future of peace, security and prosperity.
Editor's note: Liu Xian is an assistant researcher of the Institute of International Development Cooperation, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation; Mao Xiaojing is a senior research fellow and director of Institute of West Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.■