Ballooning trade figures explain their mutual affection. In 2014, trade between China and Africa exceeded US$220 billion and China’s investment in Africa also surpassed US$30 billion and is predicted to reach an estimated .7 billion by 2030.
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President John Dramani Mahama has stated that the next level of co-operation between Africa and China must be championed by the private sector players of the continent and China.
Both development and the improvement of people’s livelihoods are the shared missions of China and the African nations.
The pledge made at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg confirmed that despite lacklustre trade between the two in 2015, Africa remains a key priority in China’s foreign trade and investment policy.
A new generation of African journalists being trained in the Wits University China-Africa Reporting Project are an important part of this equation.
There is no time for empty talk of strengthening cooperation.
The 26 agreements signed during the visit to South Africa include a US$500mn loan facility for Eskom from China Development Bank and a US$2.5bn funding guarantee from Chinese export credit agency Sinosure to South African infrastructure company Transnet. “In fact, the transformation of our (Ivorian) economy will be accelerated if we can increase export of finished products to China”.
The summit and the consensus on deepening cooperation between the world’s largest developing country and the continent with the biggest number of developing and underdeveloped countries have strengthened the solidarity of the developing nations.
As a result, a more sustainable and mutually beneficial setup is now required, with an emphasis on the quality of growth, rather than exclusively on the quantum of growth, to put the relationship on a more sustainable footing.
The summit, attended by Xi and heads of state and government and representatives from about 50 African countries, adopted a declaration and an action plan for cooperation in the coming three years.
President Mahama described President Xi’s announcement as comprehensive and a well thought out plan, clear evidence of China’s commitment to the partnership with Africa.
The African official said that the FOCAC summit in Johannesburg rules out some Western allegations that China is going to reduce its investment in Africa.
The proposals, aimed at pushing forward collaboration between China and African countries in the new era, cover areas ranging from industrialization, agricultural modernization to financial services and green development, as well as peacekeeping and security.?
There have always been critics saying that Beijing’s current activities in Africa could be similar to those of the colonialists in the past.?
In his own words, Xi says: “China strongly believes that Africa belongs to the African people and that African affairs should be handled by the African people”. Additionally, the emergence of new organisations such as the New Development Bank (previously the BRICS Development Bank) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, in which China plays a leading and influential role, will provide an alternative to traditional Bretton Woods organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. China is also signalling that it expects the larger and more successful countries to assume the role of sub-regional leaders.
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Recently, China’s President Xi Jinping announced $60 billion in new investments into Africa over a three-year period within the framework of FOCAC, the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation, a framework first launched in 2000.
