A Chinese expert instructs a local farmer on planting peppers in Caldeiras Village of Sao Tome Island, Sao Tome and Principe, on 15 July 2023 (XINHUA) 

The 2024 Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), set to be held in Beijing from 4 to 6 September, marks a significant milestone in China-Africa relations. 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. Hosting the summit demonstrates China’s steadfast commitment to consolidating and developing China-Africa relations. This year’s summit also presents a valuable opportunity to map out future cooperation.  

Since its inception in 2000, FOCAC has become a bridge for enhancing mutual trust and deepening cooperation between China and Africa. Through this platform, both sides have achieved significant results in political engagement, economic and trade cooperation, cultural exchanges, and peace and security. This summit will further strengthen strategic communication and pragmatic cooperation between China and Africa, injecting new vitality into the relations and advancing the construction of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. 

Standing together   

China and Africa have long been a community with a shared future, standing together through thick and thin. This friendship grew from the friendly relationship established by former leaders into today’s comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with the content of cooperation continually expanding. Cooperation mechanisms based on the essential platform of FOCAC have facilitated the leapfrog development of China-Africa relations, leading to comprehensive achievements in pragmatic cooperation, and increasingly close multilateral collaboration.  

Through multilateral dialogue, FOCAC helps to expand consensus for cooperation. It serves as an inclusive dialogue platform for jointly addressing new challenges. A ministerial conference is held every three years alternatively by China and an African country, each resulting in a joint declaration and an action plan based on thorough consultation among China and African countries. Notably, summits were held in 2006, 2015, and 2018. Adhering to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, the forum facilitates deep exchanges of views through regular bilateral and multilateral talks and dialogue mechanisms, reaching consensus on issues of mutual concern and advancing the partnership to higher levels. After six years, China and African leaders will once again gather in Beijing to discuss plans for future development and cooperation and share experiences in governance. 

Through pragmatic cooperation, mutual benefit has been achieved. Since the establishment of FOCAC in 2000, China has been devoted to strengthening strategic cooperation with African countries and promoting the implementation of the forum’s outcomes. With achievements emerging in various fields, China-Africa cooperation has entered a new phase featuring mutually beneficial cooperation in all respects, injecting new momentum to Africa’s socioeconomic growth. China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for the past 15 years. In 2023, the trade volume between China and Africa reached a record high of $282.1 billion.  

China is also the largest investor in Africa among developing countries. By the end of 2023, China’s total direct investment stock in Africa exceeded $40 billion. Africa, being China’s second-largest overseas contracting market, has seen contracts worth over $700 billion signed with Chinese enterprises, with turnover totalling over $400 billion. These investments have resulted in numerous landmark projects and “small yet smart” projects in various sectors, including transportation, energy, power, housing, and public welfare.  

Under the framework of FOCAC, China-Africa cooperation has expanded from political to economic and cultural realms. The scope of cooperation has extended from intergovernmental dialogue to enterprise and people-to-people exchanges, playing a significant role in enhancing the friendship between the two peoples and laying a solid foundation for the long-term development of our relations. Forums such as the China-Africa People’s Forum, the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum, and the Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation have become important components of FOCAC. The regular events focusing on media, think tanks, and people-to-people exchanges contribute to building a China-Africa community of shared future in the new era and promoting exchanges among different civilisations worldwide. 

In March 2024, scholars representing 50 countries jointly issued the Africa-China Dar es Salaam Consensus at the 13th meeting of the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum held in Tanzania’s port city of Dar es Salaam, discussing major global issues and challenges and proposing common solutions. The friendly exchanges between the Chinese and African people and the extensive interactions among scholars facilitated mutual learning and the exchange of cultural values, driving both sides to work together towards common goals. 

People take photos with the monument of the Friendship Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 18 February. Constructed with the support of Chinese enterprises, the Friendship Square has become a favourable spot for quality time with friends and family (XINHUA) 

A new milestone 

In the past, China and Africa have achieved significant results in political, economic, and cultural cooperation, laying a solid foundation for a partnership of common prosperity. Looking ahead, this year’s forum will be an opportunity to further strengthen cooperation in areas such as infrastructure development, trade facilitation, and financial collaboration. These efforts will promote the building of an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future and make a positive contribution to global peace and development. 

China will continue to support African countries in playing an active role in maintaining regional peace and stability, advancing African integration, jointly addressing global challenges, and working for a more just and equitable international order. Additionally, China will support African countries in exploring paths of modernisation based on their characteristics and development needs, strengthening dialogue among civilisations, and deepening our experience sharing on governance. 

Building on the Belt and Road cooperation and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, China will align its efforts with the development plans of African countries to enhance infrastructure connectivity and the free flow of production factors. Leveraging the upcoming FOCAC Beijing Summit as an opportunity, China and Africa will work together to chart a new blueprint for cooperation, injecting new momentum into the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Africa. 

Economic cooperation is a key pillar of China-Africa relations, and both sides will further broaden trade and strengthen cooperation on industrial capacity. With enhanced coordination of economic policies and alignment of regulations and standards, trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, as well as trade diversification will be further improved, and collaboration in areas such as the digital economy, sustainable development, and agricultural modernisation will be promoted, thereby driving industrial upgrades in African countries. 

China and Africa will deepen cooperation in social sectors, in order to improve people’s well-being and support capacity building in African countries. Efforts in education, science and technology, health care, poverty alleviation, and cultural and artistic exchanges will be enhanced. 

In the new era, China-Africa cooperation is seeing a steady and sustainable growth and has an even greater prospect. China is marching towards its second Centenary Goal, while African nations are steadily progressing towards their goals under the guidance of the Agenda 2063. As the international paradigm continues to evolve and the Global South prospers, China, the world’s largest developing country, and Africa, home to the largest concentration of developing countries, need to consolidate their efforts more than ever. By joining hands, China and Africa will create favourable conditions to realise their respective visions and achieve mutual benefit, which is the prevailing trend and the shared aspiration of all peoples.  

Wang Heng is Deputy Director of Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University 

Lu Yidan is Research assistant Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University