Building an All-Weather Community

The recently held 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing under the theme Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future unequivocally demonstrated that FOCAC remains the most important flagship collaborative platform between China and Africa and continues to deliver wide-ranging, tangible economic and social results.

The summit unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era and the Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027). Over the next three years, China and Africa will also form action partnerships in 10 key areas: mutual learning among civilisations, trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, infrastructure connectivity, development, health, agricultural development, people-to-people exchanges, green development and security. To implement the 10 partnership actions, the Chinese government will provide 360 billion yuan ($51 billion) of financial support over the next three years.

It is a credit to the Chinese and African leaders that the summit’s comprehensive, measurable, practical and forward-looking outcome was generally viewed as an unqualified success. Not only has FOCAC withstood the test of time in an uncertain international landscape, but has, in fact, increasingly become a model for international cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping described the China-Africa relationship as being at its “best in history.” A clear political consensus of enhancing all-round cooperation between China and Africa was reached by the two sides. The relationship was elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

Vital platform

It is generally agreed by analysts and experts that the establishment of FOCAC in October 2000 in Beijing initiated a game-changing and strategic phase of China-Africa cooperation. FOCAC has, in fact, since become a central platform for China-Africa cooperation. Due to the practical approach inherent in the FOCAC process, infrastructure development, human resources development, governance exchanges and financial support have become key pillars of China-Africa relations. 

President Xi emphasised in Beijing that China would, among others, cooperate with Africa in trade, infrastructure, agriculture, industry, investment and high-quality Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects that would symbolise the China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI).

Africa is confident that China will promote the outcome of the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing Action Plan, which are aligned with the key objectives of the AU Agenda 2063, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Africa also welcomed China’s role as a leader on the international stage and acknowledged that China’s GDI, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilisation Initiative are aimed at improving global peace and security, promoting socio-economic development, and contributing to the reform of global governance. These initiatives are aimed at strengthening global economic development, promoting true multilateralism, and raising the representation and voice of the Global South in global governance.

With Africa’s population expected to double by 2050, from the current 1.4 billion to 2.8 billion, Africa’s growing and young consumer market will become the main driver of global demand for consumer, education, health, technological, and infrastructural products and services.

Growing trade

Despite many headwinds, trade between Africa and China jumped to the record level of $282.1 billion last year, as a result of Beijing’s recent push to boost imports from Africa.

Chinese companies have a growing confidence in the African market. More than 3,000 Chinese enterprises have invested in Africa, of which over 70 percent are private enterprises, the mainstay of Chinese investment in Africa. Given the accelerated progress with the establishment of the AfCFTA, Africa has warmly welcomed China’s offer to actively participate in the development of the AfCFTA and provide continued support to the secretariat of the AfCFTA towards the full implementation of this important initiative which will boost global trade and also create economic opportunities for the Global South. 

China and Africa have also agreed to firmly oppose the vestiges of colonialism and hegemony in all forms, and to support each other in safeguarding core interests and upholding the legitimate demands of developing countries. This constructive approach works well not only for Africa and China, but also for the entire Global South. 

The U.S. is paying more attention to Africa with a view to reduce China’s influence and has announced measures to compete with the highly constructive FOCAC and BRI.

China, based on its positive track record, however, has a huge advantage over the U.S. It is a fact that Africa has an increasingly positive view of the tangible benefits of FOCAC as well as the BRI. What Africa particularly appreciates about FOCAC and the BRI is their inherent principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and the philosophy of open, green and clean cooperation, high-standard projects, people-centred development and strengthened connectivity, all of which continue to deliver tangible benefits. 

China has, in fact, become the most important partner and contributor to Africa’s economic growth and development. The U.S. continues to make a half-hearted attempt to develop its ties with Africa and has, at best, been lukewarm in extending a hand of friendship to the continent. In fact, with its total annual trade of $67 billion compared to China’s $282.1 billion in 2023, it has been playing a catch-up game on the continent, a situation that seriously irks the U.S. It is, however, not surprising, given the broken economic promises and lack of the required commitment in the recent past, that Africa views the U.S. and the EU “support packages” with a degree of scepticism. 

Africa is concerned about the ongoing provocative approach of the U.S. towards China. Africa in its quest to achieve the “Africa we want,” needs to cooperate with all its international partners on a basis of mutual respect and equality in an African-driven process. In its own pragmatic interest, Africa would prefer to see a process which could lead to the restoration of constructive ties between China and the U.S.

The world’s two largest economies should ideally work together in providing support and assistance to vulnerable countries and contribute to the resuscitation of the global economy.

The author is Senior Research Fellow and Honorary Professor of Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China.