The predictability of China’s annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliamentary body, constitutes a lesson that many African countries can draw on to forge political stability, with an eye on sustainable economic prosperity. 

Analyzing the recently concluded second annual session ofChina’s 12th NPC at the Great Hall of the People inBeijing, one can delineate issues that are at the heart of the Chinese leadership’s policies in the coming months. Overall, this recent meeting of Chinese legislators indicates that the social, political and economic reforms that have been in vogue since the late 1970s will continue, rather than slow down. Herein lies a worthy lesson for African countries: reform should be seen as a constant rather than something that is only done when there is a crisis. Attendant to this is the fact that tangible results must be held up as evidence that reforms are having desired consequences.  

Tackling corruption in high places is top on the agenda of the Chinese leadership, as stated by Premier Li Keqiang. A review of developments in the recent past shows a situation where top leaders fingered for involvement in corruption have been prosecuted and ended up in jail. But Li’s stern warning during the NPC session, to the effect that the war on corruption will be unrelenting, can only mean that greater transparency and accountability will be achieved, in view of the clinical commitment of the Chinese leadership to implementing policies.

The approach to the war on official malfeasance inChinashould interest African countries that are burdened with this scourge. A perusal of reports released by independent transparency watchdogs in African countries shows that a lot of financial resources are lost annually to capital flight involving senior officials. More importantly in the China-Africa context is the rise in cases where allegations of corruption in the awarding of contracts for infrastructure projects have been reported. It would therefore be provident for the Chinese leadership’s focus on anti-corruption efforts not only to be considered by African countries, but also for the same strident stance to be applied to China-Africa economic relations.

An equally important issue emergent from the 2014 NPC session is that Chinese authorities are keen to continue loosening the grip on the central administration on economic factors. Premier Li pointed out that his administration was not preoccupied with intervening in the economy to maintain a high GDP growth rate, as the case has been in the past.

Going forward, it can be expected that Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will have to tough it out with private players in diverse sectors. An important and pragmatic lesson for African countries here is that they can expect intensified competition by Chinese companies seeking opportunities on the continent, as the Chinese Government somewhat steps back from propping up SOEs. Ultimately this will be good for Africa as it would increase options available for partnerships.

One of the points made by Premier Li was that power will be increasingly devolved from the Central Government to lower entities, such as Chinese provincial, municipality and county governments. Thus, African national and local governments should probably start studying and considering which Chinese local governments - from Liaoning in the north to Guangdong in the south - they wish to do business with, rather than being fixated withBeijing.

On the foreign policy front, it was welcome to note emphasis in the need for promotion of common interests betweenChinaand theUnited States. It is a well-known fact that competition betweenChinaand theUnited Statesis the defining trait of 21st century global geopolitics. This is, in itself, not a bad thing as ideological and economic competition has potential to offer developing regions such as Africa alternatives in their pursuit for better livelihoods for their people. Indeed, a point worth pursuing is the possibility that in following and accentuating converging interests,Chinaand theUnited Statescould find areas where they can cooperate in Africa - rather than the obtaining and polarized situation whereChinaand theUnited Statesare seen as engaged in a zero-sum high stakes rivalry in Africa.

(The author is a PhD candidate researching China-Africa media/diplomacy relations at Witswatersrand University)