He Wenping: What the New China-Africa Positioning Means

He Wenping: What does the new positioning of China-Africa relations at the Beijing Summit signify?

From September 4 to 6, 2024, the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held in Beijing. This was the fourth summit between Chinese and African leaders, following the 2006 Beijing Summit, the 2015 Johannesburg Summit and the 2018 Beijing Summit of FOCAC. Of the nine ministerial-level FOCAC conferences held since 2000, four have been upgraded to China-Africa leaders' summits, making the frequency of summits between China and African countries the highest among the world's major powers. Fifty-one African heads of state and government, two presidential representatives, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and UN Secretary-General António Guterres all came to China to attend.

At this Beijing Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in his opening speech on September 5 that China's bilateral relations with all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China have been elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall positioning of China-Africa relations has been raised to a new positioning: an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era. So how should this new positioning be understood, and how will China advance China-Africa cooperation in the future?

First, the elevation of China's bilateral relations with all African countries having diplomatic ties to the level of strategic relations highlights the further increase in Africa's importance in China's diplomacy, with its strategic significance becoming more prominent. Developing countries have always been described as an important foundation of China's diplomacy, and Africa is “the foundation of foundations”. China, as the world's largest developing country and a natural member of the Global South, and Africa, as the continent with the most developing countries and the greatest concentration of Global South countries, mean that China-Africa unity is the unity of the Global South and the coalescence of the strength of developing countries. Therefore, in the face of the unprecedented changes in the world and the accompanying uncertainty in world development, as well as the great shocks and adjustments brought by changes in the old and new forces and the pattern of competition among major powers, Africa — the “foundation of foundations” of China's diplomacy — needs to be further consolidated and reinforced. The strategic significance of China-Africa cooperation naturally led to the comprehensive upgrading of bilateral relations. Moreover, this strategic upgrading is not limited to Africa's large and powerful countries but extends to all African countries with diplomatic relations with China, fully reflecting the principle of equality among all countries, large and small, that China's diplomacy has always upheld.

Second, the elevation of the overall positioning of China-Africa relations to an “all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era” also highlights the dual positioning of “modernization” and “all-weather”. With global economic integration and the continuous development of scientific and technological productive forces, both China and Africa have the need to promote modernization in the new era. On the African side, not only has the African Union launched Agenda 2063 aimed at modernization, but African countries are also accelerating the development of the digital economy; on the Chinese side, during the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China clearly put forward the development goal of “Chinese-style modernization”, promoting new quality productive forces and advancing the building of a modern industrial system. The “all-weather” positioning in China-Africa relations demonstrates the resilience and solidity of the relationship, which will never be affected by a single event or change in the international situation.

Finally, the ten partnership actions to be advanced in the next three years were proposed, with the partnership action for mutual learning among civilizations and exchanges of governance experience placed first. In his opening speech, President Xi Jinping proposed ten partnership actions for China-Africa cooperation in the next three years, namely mutual learning among civilizations, trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, connectivity, development cooperation, health, agriculture and livelihood, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, green development, and common security. Unlike the action plans launched at previous FOCAC conferences, this time the partnership action for mutual learning among civilizations and exchanges of governance experience was placed first among the ten actions, highlighting the determination and confidence of China and Africa to explore development paths and modernization approaches suited to their own national conditions. The action explicitly states that in the next three years, China is willing to work with Africa to build a platform for exchanges of governance experience, establish a China-Africa development knowledge network and 25 China-Africa research centers, cultivate governance talent through the African Leadership Academy, and invite 1,000 African political party members to China for exchanges, deepening mutual experience in party and state governance.

In addition, in the other partnership actions, China put forward specific quantitative targets to be achieved within the next three years, such as granting zero-tariff treatment for 100% of tariff lines to all least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 African countries, and making China's large market a great opportunity for Africa; jointly building a China-Africa digital technology cooperation center and 20 digital demonstration projects; implementing 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa; sending 2,000 medical personnel to Africa and implementing 20 health and malaria control projects; sending 500 agricultural experts and building a China-Africa agricultural science and technology innovation alliance; and implementing 1,000 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects, creating no fewer than 1 million jobs in Africa, among others. China's total pledged funding reached US$50 billion.

In short, through this China-Africa summit, Chinese and African leaders not only met again after the COVID-19 pandemic, but also comprehensively enhanced the strategic and all-weather permanence of bilateral relations. China is ready to work with Africa to deepen cooperation in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment, set a benchmark for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, jointly create a model for implementing the Global Development Initiative, and lead the modernization process of the Global South.

The author, He Wenping, is a researcher at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies (China Africa Institute) of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

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