“I will write a story describing the greatness of China”: 18th FOCAC Summit a Hit with African Journalists

The 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), drew to a close on Tuesday after an impressive two days where 53 African nations and China, participated in meetings chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping and co-chaired by South African President Ramaphosa.

Highlights of the two-day summit included President Xi’s keynote address, where he outlined China’s plans to invest $60 billion in Africa, create a “win-win” atmosphere based on mutual respect and enact 8 initiatives to continue the China-Africa “big family”.

With the largest number of journalists ever attending the summit, China Focus reporters Zheng Nan and Cai Hairuo asked them their views on four big talking points from an eventful summit.

Δ Mihoubi Zakaria, a journalist for Algeria Public TV, received an interview from China Focus reporters. (China Focus/Cai Hairuo)

What Impressed you Most from the Summit?

 “It is excellent, satisfactory and encouraging.” Jator Njechu Christopher，a journalist for Cameroon Tribune, from the Republic of Cameroon told the reporters.

It is excellent because no country moves on in this global world alone. We need cooperation or partnership with other countries and China is doing the right thing at the right time. It is excellent because collaborating and cooperating with African countries is the only way to build a good future and we can only succeed in this world if we move in partnership. Nothing can improve in a nation if it wants to be unilateral. So, President Xi Jinping’s idea of partnership is excellent; it is excellent in his idea of development; it is excellent in his idea of building a community for a shared future, he said.

It is satisfactory, because it has witnessed a massive participation of leaders from Africa as well as Chinese leaders and authorities. So, it is really satisfactory to get both parties to come together as one to decide on the future of the country and we have seen the aids initiatives and the debt relief as well as the financial commitment of the Chinese government for Africa so that makes it satisfactory for us, Christopher said.

It is also encouraging as we have seen that the Chinese side of this cooperation is up to a shared future with Africa by giving this commitment, he said.

The first thing that impressed me was President Xi Jinping. The second thing was the good organization of the summit and the third thing was that I had the opportunity to meet many people like you. I will write a story describing the greatness of China after the forum, the greatness of this country, Mihoubi Zakaria, a journalist for Algeria Public TV told us.

“I was told that they were talking and exchanging ideas in the area of how to fight HIV/AIDS. We are satisfied with the event because we had a high-level press conference with three leaders. They give their own points of view concerning this summit,” Ahmed Hazem Samir Sayed, a journalist from the Republic newspaper said.

Δ Pemba George Jaziel, a reporter from the Republic of Malawi, received an interview from China Focus reporters. (China Focus/Cai Hairuo)

What Are your Country’s Views on the Belt and Road Initiative?

Cameroon is not yet part of Belt and Road Initiative, but there are plans to join it. I think that with the beginning of this new three-year cycle of Sino-African cooperation, Cameroon will have a lot of opportunities, Jator Njechu Christopher said.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a good initiative because it seeks to encourage connectivity between countries and regions. We have to interconnect and ensure movement, he said.

An easy movement to begin between African countries and China will be to encourage trade. Encouraging the development of those economies involved in Belt and Road Initiative is a good one because it brings development for the people. It develops of the economies and improves lives, he said.

How Important are the Eight Major Initiatives Aligning with AU Agenda 2063?

My impression is that it is possible and feasible because these countries involved in the cooperation have already been working together for years in regards to this vision. So, I don’t think it’s a difficult vision for them. Coming together as a community, as one community, will make it easier to meet these goals, Jator Njechu Christopher said.

It’s important that these initiatives respect Africa and its programs which have been planned for many years, such as the 2063 goals. We can see that it is very good to talk about this because China respects the others and corporates with them. We hope that these eight initiatives, from the Declaration of Beijing, give Algerian’s, African people and the Chinese people the largest possibility to establish President Xi Jinping’s idea of uniting society. For us in Algeria, China is the first country for new trade. China will welcome up to fifty thousand African students to continue their studies and this is very important to us, Mihoubi Zakaria said.

I think the most important part of this agreement is the cooperation between Africa and China in specific areas like transferring technology how to benefit from Chinese development and economic development. China and Africa have a shared community because the mutual visits between African leaders and the Chinese president have bridged the gap between us. The Shanghai Exhibition will give Africa more opportunities to display its products. The Chinese government has proposed that China will facilitate displaying African goods in this exhibition and I think it’s an advantage for African people to display their products and invest in China. China has a big population, 1.4 billion people and it’s a very precious chance for African people to invest and display their products here, Pemba George Jaziel, a reporter from the Republic of Malawi said.

How the $60 Billion Financial-plan should Be Used to Develop the African Economy?

The $60 billion financial pledge to Africa in the next three years is a good initiative. The financial pledge is in order to be used for development and it should be used in projects to improve the economy of Africa. African countries should be wise in choosing the projects, for example, they should use the money to build roads, build networks which will encourage tourism and connectivity, as well as other infrastructure, like hospitals and airports, Jator Njechu Christopher told us.

Building a China-Africa community with a shared future is definitely good. No country can prosper and develop on its own. We need cooperation, bilateral and multilateral relations. The Chinese government will use the eight major initiatives to promote development in Africa and offer a financial pledge of sixty billion US dollars and send experts to improve the skills of Africans. This is a very good thing. What would Africa contribute in this cooperation in the next three years? When we talk of a community, of a shared future, we should know what we are sharing. I think Africa is rich in natural resources, and Africa can improve its business environment to encourage more Chinese investors to establish themselves here. I think Africans will also contribute in sharing our knowledge and our experiences from our past, present and the future, Jator Njechu Christopher said.

Firstly, the summit is a very precious opportunity for African people to enhance cooperation with China. China is the second largest economy in the world. China opens channels to cooperate with Africa, in terms of the economy, investment, infrastructure, transferring technology and so many other aspects. I think the African leaders must put forward some proposals and ideas to strengthen this cooperation and use the 60 billion dollars that Chinese president Xi Jinping granted to Africa. If African leaders directed this amount of money in a good way, in terms of economic development, developing infrastructure and attracting foreign capital, I think they will reap the benefits of it, Pemba George Jaziel said.

Zheng Nan, Cai Hairuo reported at FOCAC 2018 Media Center

Editors: Thomas Scott-Bell, Cai Hairuo