China, Africa dialogue spurring shared development, says Kenyan expert

Published: April 11,2022

The dialogue and harmony between China and Africa is spurring development for both regions, Peter Kagwanja, chief executive of Nairobi-headquartered Africa Policy Institute, said in a commentary published in the Nation newspaper on Sunday.

In the 21st century, the expert said, China and Africa have resolved to walk far and together.

“The two civilizations embraced the trinity of mutual cooperation, equal partnership and solidarity to undergird their relations in our turbulent post-liberal international order,” Kagwanja said.

According to Kagwanja, China-Africa ties are now built on the long history of exchanges between the two civilizations. He observed that since the pharaonictimes in ancient Egypt, Chinese sailors and traders have made voyages to Africa and similarly, African scholars and travelers have also visited China.

He noted that after a long history of external conquest, occupation, exploitation and humiliation, the two civilizations have re-mapped and recreated the ancient Silk Road as a new super-highway of inter-civilization dialogue and exchanges in the era of globalization.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed both a challenge and opportunity for China-Africa relations, Kagwanja said.

Back in February 2020, African nations sent letters to express their support and sympathy to the Chinese people and even donated money and supplies to China to fight the pandemic, he said.

“Inversely when COVID-19 struck Africa, China and its charities sent support to the continent to contain the pandemic,” Kagwanja said.

He noted that during the 2021 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Senegal, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged an additional 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa.

“So far, this is the largest vaccine assistance plan undertaken by a single country to help Africa overcome the pandemic,” Kagwanja said.

China will also undertake 10 medical and health projects for African countries, and send 1,500 medical personnel and public health experts to Africa.

“This inter-civilizational assistance in the health sector from both sides will help the African Union achieve its goal of vaccinating 60 percent of the African population by the end of 2022,” Kagwanja added. 

Xinhua