Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
By Africa China Review Staff Writer
The Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is a triennial high-level forum between China and African countries. The forthcoming summit will be held in Dakar, Senegal and provides an organizing mechanism for Chinese foreign policy toward Africa.
The China-Africa Business Council’s recent report on China’s private sector investment in Africa looks forward to the event as “another milestone and a new starting point for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation” that will provide “a great opportunity for all African countries to attract foreign investment and expand their international influence”.
FOCAC’s achievements
A central appeal of FOCAC is its focus on cultivating close partnerships. Its agenda is negotiated throughdialogues at the ambassadorial, director-general, senior official, and ministerial levels, alternating between African and Chinese venues. Strategic priorities are laid down in 12 policy forums like the China-Africa Defense and Security Forum and the Ministerial Forum on China-Africa Health Cooperation. Technical organs like the China-Africa Local Government Cooperation Forum and the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum organize short-term training. Specialized think tanks within the Chinese government organize programs to give African recipients deeper exposure to China.
The cooperation between China and African under FOCAC is a model that provides a new basis for solving global poverty. The forum is a mutuallybeneficial cooperation model based on mutual respect among equals, and is directly related to the legitimacyof the world’s current political-economic system. Many realistic and pragmatic achievements have been recorded in the first decade of FOCAC’s existence.
FOCAC represents a new cooperation model between China, the world’s largest developing country, and Africa, the continent with the highest num-
ber of developing countries. us, this cooperation model could provide a new basis for solving global poverty.
e forum is a new and mutually benecialcooperation model based on mutual respect among equals, and is directly related to the legitimacy of the world’s current political-economic system.
Many realistic and pragmatic achievements have been recorded over the rst decade of FOCAC’s existence
OCAC represents a new cooperation model between China, the world’s largest developing country, and Africa, the continent with the highest num-
ber of developing countries. us, this cooperation model could provide a new basis for solving global poverty.
e forum is a new and mutually benecialcooperation model based on
mutual respect among equals, and is directly related to the legitimacy of the world’s current political-economic system.
Many realistic and pragmatic achievements have been recorded over the rst decade of FOCAC’s existence
Expected Key themes for FOCAC 2021
Infrastructure: China will continue to support the development of infrastructure in Africa but the projects are likely to be smaller compared to previous years, and more aligned with focus on developing technology, health, and green initiatives. It is highly unlikely that there will be any announcements of multibillion-dollar transportation and energy projects that were common at previous FOCAC summits.
Health: COVID-19 vaccine access will be a top priority for the AU. It is seeking commitments from China to open up production facilities to allow African countries to purchase vaccines. The African side is also mobilizing Chinese support for the AU’s ongoing effort to establish five vaccine manufacturing hubs across Africa. The Chinese side will likely announce expanded vaccine production and distribution initiatives along with increased support of multilateral programs like the Africa CDC, which it is helping to finance. China has provided much needed support to African countries in terms of medical equipment and COVID-19 vaccines in the war against the corona virus pandemic.
Digital: Technology is also expected to be among the most important discussion tracks at this year’s FOCAC, both in terms of infrastructure development but also increasingly on issues related to cyber governance. Chinese policy banks have been very active this year providing loans to build new Huawei smart cities and data centers so it’s quite likely there will be a number of new announcements of similar digital initiatives.
Green: China’s announcement that it will no longer build coal-fired power plants abroad and the new green development guidelines published earlier this year by the ministries of commerce and environment point to renewable energy becoming a key priority for Beijing and the development of the “Green Belt and Road.” Therefore, it’s quite likely there will be a number of green power initiatives, announced at FOCAC.
Agriculture: There’s been a lot of activity in the China-Africa agricultural trading sector this year. It indicates that China sees more imports of Tanzanian soybeans, Rwandan chili, and Ugandan coffee, among other products, as a way to both help boost employment on the continent and to narrow the gaping trade surpluses between China and most African countries. We can expect announcements of new agricultural products to be imported into China and the deployment of more Chinese agricultural tech in Africa.
Debt cancellation is likely to be a hard sell. Chinese lenders hold roughly 21 percent of African debt and extended loans worth $152 billion to 49 countries between 2000 and 2018. China fears setting a precedent for blanket forgiveness and will likely stick to debt restructuring and postponing repayments. At least 18 African nations are renegotiating debts with around 30 different Chinese lenders. A further 12 African countries are attempting to reschedule around $12 billion in loans.
For China and African countries, the deepening of their win-win cooperation of mutual benefits is an irrevocable trend. Based on the cooperation approaches proved effective by practice, the forum could reinforce mechanism building to improve the quality and efficiency of China-Africa cooperation and play a greater role in building a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.
