Why China-Africa relations continue to thrive during the pandemic

photo courtesy: modernghana.com

China and Africa have shown the world how a bilateral relationship can continue to thrive despite a raging pandemic.

Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, China and Africa have supported one another with good faith, further enriching their brotherhood. When China struggled to contain the pandemic within its borders, leaders of more than 50 African countries offered their sympathy and provided support to China’s battle against the virus. Later, China also proved a reliable friend in deed who honors its pledges of support to an Africa in need. In solidarity with the African people’s fight against the pandemic, China delivered countless batches of urgently-needed medical supplies, sent over teams of medical experts, and shared its own anti-pandemic experience. 

China continues to offer help as the African continent is racing against time to meet a minimum target of at least 60 percent of COVID-19 vaccine immunization — the continent’s entire adult population — by the end of 2022. To fulfill its commitment to making COVID-19 vaccines a global public good, China has provided and will continue to provide vaccines to more than 30 African countries. It has furthermore been assisting Africa in producing COVID-19 vaccines, offering technology and expertise.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more than once spoken highly of Chinese vaccines in mitigating the continent’s vaccination gap. The two sides’ joint commitment to cementing an existing partnership to realize Africa’s new public health order serves as another shining example of togetherness. Of all the ongoing efforts China is making to help Africa build its capacity locally is the state-of-the-art future headquarters of the Africa CDC, which is under construction in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa with Chinese support. China has also been lending a helping hand to Africa in accelerating its economic recovery. The African Union recently announced that the pandemic has plunged the continent into its first recession in 25 years, calling for prioritizing African integration to accelerate its economic revival. In the face of such hardships, China has signed debt service suspension agreements with, and reduced or waived the interest-free loans for multiple African countries, becoming the biggest player in terms of relieving African debt among the Group of 20. A number of Belt and Road projects remain ongoing across Africa even amid the pandemic.

Chinese enterprises are becoming a significant force in boosting Africa’s economic development and improving livelihoods. They have not only actively supported local COVID-19 containment and prevention measures, promoted the resumption of work and daily life, and provided materials, vaccines and technical assistance, but also facilitated trade and investment in Africa. A special survey by the China-Africa Business Council of nearly 100 key Chinese private enterprises from June to July this year found their proportion of reinvestment in Africa to be around 30 percent. No one is safe until all are safe. Taking this grain of truth to heart, China has also been calling on the rest of the world to support Africa’s anti-pandemic fight. “We must provide greater support for Africa,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said last year when addressing the opening of the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly via video link. He later reiterated this call on various bilateral and multilateral occasions. An opinion article published by Zimbabwean newspaper Herald in late August noted that “global solidarity is key in fighting the disease,” adding that “for countries in Africa, there is further cause to actually look towards China for solutions to this pandemic.” Indeed, what China and Africa have done together during the pandemic testifies to their determination to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future, and has become living proof of the importance of unity in the face of global challenges. Expect more stellar outcomes to emerge in the future. 

Xinhua