China and Africa: Sharing the Future

The 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit opened on Monday afternoon with President Xi Jinping delivering a keynote speech titled, Work Together for Common Development and a Shared Future. The following three points really impressed me. Δ Chinese President Xi Jinping (C, back) meets the press together with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (L, back) and Senegalese President Macky Sall, former and new African co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), after the conclusion of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The relationship between FOCAC and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was clearly expressed. Since the BRI was proposed in 2013, many African governments have been very concerned about the position of FOCAC. Xi’s speech made it clear that FOCAC will continue and will not be replaced by the BRI. In fact, the BRI is providing new strategic opportunities for all African countries. Through the convergence of the BRI with the African Union Agenda 2063, the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the development strategies of all African countries, Africa will surely be integrated into the implementation of the BRI and support its development goals. Actually, the aim of FOCAC and the BRI is consistent: common development through […]