What is China’s Policy on Africa?

Africa China Review Editorial 

The relationship between China and Africa is guided by a firm policy initiated in 2006, for building strategic partnership featuring political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation, and cultural exchange. Africa is at the forefront of expanding its industrialization, infrastructure development and the war against poverty. China is a reliable partner in this journey of transforming the African continent into a production power house rather than being a source of raw materials for developed economies. 

China’s policy is of a shared journey with Africa in its development aspirations in the fulfillment of agenda 2063.  Both the Chinese dream and the African dream aim to enable   people to live a more prosperous and happier life.  The development strategies of China and Africa are highly compatible. 

The establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Forum (FOCAC) in 2000, was a great milestone that helped to put in place joint follow up mechanisms to conduct  regular evaluations on the implementation of agreed on actions. During the 2018 Forum on China Africa Cooperation, Chinese President Xi proposed eight major areas for nations to collaborate on: industrial promotion, facility connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, health and hygiene, humanities exchanges, and peace and security.

Enhancing solidarity and cooperation with African countries has always been the cornerstone of China’s independent foreign policy of peace, as well as China’s firm and longstanding strategic choice. China respects African countries’ independent choices of the way to development as well as the practices and efforts to promote economic and social development and improve people’s living standards. 

Since the break out of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has proved to be closer to Africa by sharing the much needed medical equipment, the much needed face masks as well as the vaccines that are still less than enough to all African countries. As almost all rich countries have been blamed for hording vaccines when the poor and developing countries are in a critical shortage, China stood out in solidarity with the less privileged including the African continent, inadvocating for vaccine equity between the rich and the poor nations, and more so, make COVID-19 vaccines a public good. 

It evident therefore, that China’s policy on Africa is pragmatic and takes into interests of both sides rather than being a one way imposed relationship, working together to pursue development and fulfill dreams, jointly delivering more benefits to Chinese and African people, and make greater contributions to world peace, stability, development and prosperity. 

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