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THE 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) will be held in Beijing from today to Friday. Leaders from China and over 50 African members, as well as representatives from African regional organisations and international organisations, will once again gather in Beijing. This is the fourth time the Focac is being held in a form of a summit and it is also the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders. Over the past few days, African leaders have been arriving in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday started holding bilateral events with foreign leaders who will attend the 2024 Summit. This also marks the official beginning of the “2024 Summit of the FOCAC time.” 

The theme of this year’s summit is “Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future,” highlighting the exploration of the path to modernisation as a key focus of the summit. China and Africa share a natural advantage in cooperation, stemming from mutual empathy. China is the largest developing country, while Africa has the highest concentration of developing countries. Both have similar historical memories of long-term poverty, weakness and suffering from aggression and both aspire to achieve independence, self-determination and justice. 

Moreover, they both hope to realise modernisation and improve the living standards of their people. China is well aware of the challenges and difficulties that African countries face in their development. When it comes to China-Africa co-operation, many Africans share the sentiment that China responds urgently to Africa’s needs and addresses Africa’s difficulties.

In the new era, President Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative, which have received broad support from African countries. The historical wheel of the community with a shared future between China and Africa has accelerated. China-Africa co-operation, which initially focused on economy, trade, poverty reduction and development, has gradually expanded into practical co-operation in various areas such as governance, cultural exchanges, peace and security and public health, achieving leapfrog development. 

In 2013, President Xi visited Africa, his first official overseas visit after assuming the office of president, emphasising that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future. In 2018, President Xi delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Focac, highlighting the joint efforts to build “an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.” The practical significance of Focac has continued to grow and evolve, demonstrating its comprehensiveness and strategic nature, making it a crucial platform for collective consultation and co-ordinated action between China and Africa and a hallmark of international co-operation with Africa.

Today, the African continent is at a crucial moment in search of a path and model for modernisation. Many African countries’ leaders arrived in China days in advance to visit various provinces and cities, aiming to gain a comprehensive understanding of China’s modernisation process and to engage in targeted high-level – with China. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s first stop in China was Shenzhen, while Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi chose Shanghai as his first destination. President of the Central Africa Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera visited Chongqing, citing “similar geographical characteristics” between the two regions and expressing his desire to learn how China’s inland cities achieve opening-up to the world. 

On Madagascar’s 20 000 Ariary banknote, a Chinese hybrid rice is clearly printed, in order to commemorate Chinese experts who promoted hybrid rice locally and effectively improved the country’s self-sufficiency in food. Some African scholars have pointed out that a distinctive feature of China’s co-operation with Africa is being “driven by Africa’s needs,” which has also led to more countries “willing to listen to Africa’s voice and establish equal partnerships.” The Focac has always been based on voluntary and equal principles, dedicated to addressing practical livelihood issues in Africa. This is an important reason why China-Africa co-operation is down-to-earth and vibrant. 

The exchanges between China and Africa represent an unprecedented new phenomenon in the process of globalisation. Two formerly colonised and underdeveloped economies engaging in such extensive and in-depth exchanges and co-operation are gradually becoming a new engine for global development, carrying significant world-historical meaning. In a certain sense, globalisation is no longer a puppet show dominated by the West but is evolving toward a more inclusive and diverse direction, aligning with the mainstream wishes and needs of the international community.

Due to the great success of the Focac, many countries have also rushed to establish “Africa+1” co-operation mechanisms. We call on all countries to work together to contribute to Africa’s modernisation based on fully respecting the will of African countries. We oppose any geopolitical manipulation, we welcome and are willing to co-operate with all parties sincerely focused on Africa’s development. China’s co-operation with Africa is not exclusive, but highly inclusive.

In the past, China was a companion of Africa in seeking liberation; in the future, China will also be a fellow traveller of Africa in seeking development. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in July this year made systematic arrangements for further deepening reform, comprehensively and advancing Chinese modernisation. It proposes that we should remain committed to the basic state policy of opening up to the outside world and develop new institutions for a higher-standard open economy, which will provide solid guarantees for Chinese modernisation and also promote the construction of an open world economy. It’s believed that the upcoming 2024 Summit of Focac will once again leave a significant mark in the history of civilisational exchanges between China and Africa, injecting new powerful momentum into co-operation in the China-Africa field. — Global Times, China