The COVID-19 pandemic has made a huge impact on Africa's economic and social development. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economy of sub-Saharan Africa is expected to shrink by 1.6 percent this year.

A World Bank report predicts that sub-Saharan Africa's economy will contract 2.1 to 5.1 percent by the end of the year, triggering the first recession in the region over 25 years. African countries are facing double test of pandemic prevention and economic recovery.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). All of the 10 cooperation plans adopted at the FOCAC 2015 Johannesburg Summit have been implemented and significant progress has been achieved with regard to the Eight Major Initiatives proposed at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the FOCAC.

To cushion the impact of the pandemic and further consolidate the FOCAC achievements over the past 20 years, China and Africa must seize the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), unlock new areas of cooperation and work in greater synergy on the 2021 FOCAC calendar in the post-pandemic era.

Connectivity key to growth

Africa made history with the creation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in 2018. But statistics show that currently only 15 percent of Africa's trade is intra-regional.

The UN Economic Commission for Africa predicts that the AfCFTA has the capacity to increase intra-Africa trade by around $50 billion to $70 billion by 2040. The UN Conference on Trade and Development envisions that reducing intra-Africa tariffs could lead to $3.6 billion in welfare gains on the continent due to increased production and affordability of goods.

However, to realize all these grand visions, it is both essential and imperative to build modern infrastructure to link up the continent. To this end, BRI is the answer.

The Belt and Road is essentially a global transport network of integrated and interconnected systems that is composed of railways, highways, aviation, navigation, oil and gas pipelines, and communication networks.

The initiative will lead to the gradual formation of industrial clusters and a wide range of other economic activities along the routes. With the growth of industries, economic corridors featuring comprehensive development of construction, metallurgy, energy, finance, communication, information, logistics and tourism will be established.

Africa is BRI's natural participant. The biggest Chinese aid project to Africa, the Tan-Zam Railway completed in 1975, is a symbol of long-lasting China-Africa friendship.

In the past, Chinese tea and porcelain were transported along the Maritime Silk Road to Africa, which strengthened people-to-people friendship and facilitated exchanges among civilizations.

The spirit of the Silk Road is still relevant today. China supports Africa in its efforts to develop the AfCFTA to enhance connectivity and strengthen industrial and supply chains.

China has signed BRI memorandums of understanding with 40 African countries as well as the African Union.

Under the BRI, China has undertaken numerous projects facilitating African integration and connectivity, including the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway linking the Kenyan port city of Mombasa to the capital city of Nairobi; the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway linking Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to Djibouti; and railways in Angola and Nigeria, among others. There are nearly 100 Sino-African industrial parks under construction or already up and running.

China has established six overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in five African countries, in order to promote the indigenization of the BRI to generate concrete results.

China is working hard to link its development strategy with the African Union's Agenda 2063, adopted by the African Union in 2013, which outlines Africa's priority areas for economic growth and development.

There is broader prospect for China and Africa to cooperate in digital economy, smart city, clean energy, 5G and other new business fields.

The BRI, along with the AfCFTA, will boost Africa's manufacturing capacity and increase trade among African nations, leading to a robust market with a labor force of approximately 1.3 billion people - placing it among the world's largest free trade markets.

Poverty reduction

Under the Belt and Road framework, China is working with African countries to alleviate poverty, narrow development gap, and inject new vigor into the existing cooperation between the two sides.

Booming infrastructure construction and industrial park development are boosting Africa's economic development, transforming Africa's rich resources and energy into sustainable development, and bringing tangible benefits to the African People.

The Mombasa to Nairobi railway line, for instance, has boosted local economic development, such as in the mining, service and pastoral industries. The railway has driven up Kenya's GDP growth by 1.5-2 percent and greatly facilitated the mobility of people between Mombasa and Nairobi. The freight transport time has been shortened from more than 10 hours to about four hours, and logistics costs have been reduced by over 40 percent.

The BRI has also made it easier for Africans to sell products to the Chinese market, which will contribute directly to poverty reduction in Africa.

As Africa's largest trading partner in the past 10 years and the biggest investor in the continent's infrastructure, China has helped build over 10,000 km of roads, 6,000 km of railways, and many schools, hospitals, airports, and power stations in Africa.

By the year 2023, China's outbo­und investment in BRI countries will reach up to $500 billion, which will contribute more to the poverty reduction in Africa.

Openness and inclusiveness

The BRI advocates an inclusive and participatory global order that is based on fairness and rationality. It focuses on development shared by the people and sticks to the principle of win-win cooperation.

The initiative calls on multilateral organizations including the UN, the WHO, the IMF and the World Bank to provide emergency aid to African countries.

The BRI was put forth by China and widely discussed with the African side, signaling an opportunity for African countries to review their resource endowment and comparative economic advantage to facilitate a strategic engagement with the world.

With enormous goodwill and all weather friendly cooperation with China, Africa can bring its accumulated wisdom of community resilience on board, give full expression to its contemporary renaissance and integrate it into the joint endeavor to construct a community of shared future for mankind.

A proven brotherhood

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Africa have enhanced solidarity and strengthened friendship and mutual trust.

When Africa was struck by the virus, China was the first to rush in with assistance and has since stood firm with the African people.

China has delivered much-needed supplies to over 50 African countries and the African Union, dispatched seven medical expert teams, conducted some 400 coronavirus-related training sessions, trained 20,000 local medical workers in Africa, shared anti-epidemic experience via video conferences, and ensured the supply of 30 million testing kits, 10,000 ventilators and 80 million masks each month for Africa to help combat the disease.

China will establish a cooperation mechanism for its hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals, start ahead of schedule the construction of the Africa CDC headquarters to help the continent ramp up its disease preparedness and control capacity, work with Africa to fully deliver the healthcare initiative adopted at the FOCAC Beijing Summit, and make COVID-19 vaccines, when available, a global public good.

China has so far announced the suspension of debt repayments from 77 developing countries. For those African countries that are hardest hit by the coronavirus and are under heavy financial stress, China will work with the global community to further extend the period of debt suspension to help them tide over the current difficulty.

The joint efforts between China and Africa in fighting COVID-19 in the past months have let the African people see more clearly the true meaning and value of their fraternity with the Chinese people, a proven brotherhood in the age of uncertainty.

The author is an op-ed writer of ChinAfrica

(Print Edition Title: Opportunity for All)

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