The two visits within such a short period of time indicate that the new Chinese leadership continues to attach great importance to developing Sino-African relations and strengthening South-South cooperation. During his stay in Africa, Li vowed to actively promote China-Africa cooperation in six areas, namely industrial cooperation, financial cooperation, cooperation on poverty reduction, cooperation on environmental protection, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation on peace and security. He also put forward both detailed and general plans for cooperation in each of the six areas. His proposal can be regarded as the “upgraded version” of all-around Sino-African cooperation.

Justice and profit

Correct handling of the relationship between justice and profit is an important guideline laid down by China’s new leadership in its engagement with Africa. In March 2013 when President Xi visited Africa, he used four phrases to summarize China’s attitude toward China-Africa relations: “remaining faithful, valuing real results, cultivating kinship-like quality and being sincere.”

In January 2014, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi visited Africa, reiterating that the “correct justice-profit outlook is a banner of China’s diplomacy.” According to Wang, China will neither embark on the plundering road of colonists nor seek to profit selfishly as done by some other countries. Instead, China hopes to become prosperous together with African countries. During the process, China will give more consideration for the needs of African countries that can then profit more through cooperation. The Tanzania-Zambia Railway, built with Chinese assistance in the 1970s, is an exemplary model of the correct justice-profit outlook. The AU Conference Center, also built with Chinese assistance, is another example.

In his visit to Africa, Li illustrated the justice-profit outlook in his “upgraded version” of Sino-African relations. Speaking at the AU Headquarters, he pledged that more than a half of China’s foreign aid will go to Africa. China has decided to increase its lending to African countries by $10 billion, reaching a total of $30 billion, and will inject another $2 billion into the China-Africa Development Fund, boosting Chinese investment in the fund to $5 billion.

In terms of per-capita GDP, China is still a developing country. However, thanks to its increasing national strength, the country now has the ability to better plan for the development of Sino-African relations and contribute to Africa’s development.

On his Africa tour, Li set the target of doubling the bilateral trade volume to top $400 billion and pushing China’s cumulative direct investment in Africa from $25 billion to $100 billion by 2020. Li also vowed to help Africa construct three major networks of high-speed railway, expressway and regional aviation so as to help Africa realize the connection of all the African capitals with railways, thus promoting African integration. Undoubtedly, all these projects are sorely needed by African countries and when completed will change the face of the continent. These investments all indicate China’s justice-profit outlook in contributing to African development.

More responsibility

While addressing the World Economic Forum on Africa in Nigeria, Li noted that China and Africa have a combined population of more than 2.3 billion, and strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation can help improve the well-being of peoples from both sides and promote balanced world economic development. This cooperation itself is the world’s greatest inclusive growth model. Through opening up and mutually beneficial cooperation, China and Africa can make joint progress in development, benefiting the economic growth and livelihoods of one third of the world’s population. This can greatly promote balanced world economic development and the overall progress of humanity. It also shows China is willing to take on its responsibilities.

As a developing economy, it is necessary for China to shoulder responsibilities while contributing to the whole world, including Africa. With diversification of players participating in Sino-African cooperation over the past decade, problems and challenges emerged in their bilateral and multilateral relations together with achievements. Li calls it “growing pains.”

While visiting Angola, home to 260,000 Chinese, accounting for nearly a quarter of the Chinese in Africa, Li took time to meet with representatives of Chinese state-owned and private enterprises and a Chinese chamber of commerce operating in Angola. While stressing that the Chinese Government attaches importance to the protection of rights and interests of overseas Chinese and consular protection, Li required these enterprises to strictly abide by local laws and regulations and take corresponding responsibilities in project quality, product quality, consumers and local society and environment.

In Kenya, Li and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the Ivory Burning Site Monument in Nairobi National Park, showing the Chinese Government’s strong determination of joining hands with African countries in fighting against illegal poaching and ivory smuggling and its sincerity of strengthening cooperation in wildlife protection. He pledged $10 million in supporting wildlife conservation, protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in Africa. Li also gave his support to the localization of Chinese enterprises and urged them to provide more job opportunities to Africans. Much of China’s foreign aid will go to Africa with focuses on poverty alleviation, health care and disaster prevention.

Joint development

During the more than 30 years after China’s reform and opening up, the Chinese people have struggled to realize their Chinese dream of national renewal; African countries and peoples are making unremitting efforts to seek their African dream of poverty alleviation and development. The common history, common development missions and common dream of rejuvenation have bound China and Africa together, becoming a community of shared destinies.

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of late Premier Zhou Enlai’s Africa tour. In the past half century, Sino-African relations have conquered various difficulties and maintained continuous development. China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for five successive years, and Africa is now China’s third largest overseas investment market and the second largest overseas project contracting market.

In addition, people-to-people contact between China and African countries has also increased rapidly. By the end of last year, China had trained 54,000 various skilled professionals for African countries and dispatched more than 360,000 technicians, young volunteers and agricultural experts to Africa. Statistics show that the number of African people studying and working in China grew rapidly in recent years. In Guangzhou City, south China’s Guangdong Province, there are approximately 200,000 African people.

The major reason that Sino-African relations can forge ahead continuously is that both China and Africa regard each other as their opportunity for development as well as a support for foreign strategy. China needs Africa and vice versa. China’s growth is not a threat to Africa, but an important development opportunity. In China, investing in Africa has become a trend; in Africa, many people believe that it is necessary for Africa to strengthen economic and trade relations with emerging countries like China.

While answering a question from an African journalist before visiting Africa, Li quoted an African proverb to illustrate the importance of Sino-African cooperation, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” It is true that only through sharing destinies, taking responsibilities and being sincere can China and Africa maintain their stable and long-lasting relations. CA

(The author is a senior researcher with the Chahar Institute and a researcher of Institute of West Asian and African Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)