FOCAC 2024, Africa in China

BEIJING – African leaders have gathered in China in a high level conference in Beijing scheduled from September 04 to September 06. It is the largest diplomatic event China has ever hosted with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.

China has been Africa’s largest lender and investor to discuss policies and cooperation agreements. Previous summit agreements have granted Beijing unparalleled access to Africa’s raw material markets and provided significant investment funds to African nations.

What is the summit?

The China-Africa summit, known as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), has taken place every three years since 2000. The conference this year marks the ninth edition of this event.

The discussions and eventual agreements will focus on themes such as industrialization, agricultural advancements, security, and collaboration on China’s Belt and Road Initiative – a vast project designed to connect multiple continents to China through extensive infrastructure.

Who is attending?

The summit is being attended by at least 53 African heads of state, their representatives, and ministerial delegates. President Xi arranged bilateral meetings with the African leaders before the start of the summit.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also attending the summit as a special guest, along with representatives from several international and regional organizations who are participating as observers.

China and Africa Cooperation

China is Africa’s largest trading partner, with approximately a quarter of the continent’s exports – primarily minerals, fuels, and metals – going to China, and around 16 percent of its imports coming from there. China projects that the annual trade volume could reach $300 billion by 2035.

Beijing is also Africa’s largest creditor, having committed $191 billion in investments between 2006 and 2021. These investments often come as grants, credit, and loans for major infrastructure projects.

During the 2021 summit in Senegal, China pledged an additional $40 billion in investments across African nations.

Africa’s increasing admiration for China’s development story is anchored in its distinctive model of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which prioritizes a people-first approach, innovation, and progressive reforms.

China’s modernization strategy has drawn significant interest from Global South countries, providing a governance and development blueprint. These nations view China’s experience as a valuable example for improving their own governance systems, fostering innovation, and pursuing sustainable development in ways that align with their specific needs and contexts.

This increasing confidence reflects China’s foreign policy goals, which focus on deepening cooperation with the Global South, promoting North-South dialogue, and aligning development strategies across different regions.

Xi Jinping at FOCAC

Xi attended the opening ceremony of the FOCAC 2024 summit and welcomed all the leaders and dignitaries in his opening remarks.

He expressed, ‘the friendship between China and Africa transcends time and space, surmounts mountains and oceans, and passes down through generations.’

Emphasizing on the importance of the FOCAC Summit, he said that it has been a key milestone in China Africa relations. The summit for the past 24 years especially in the new era has helped China advance a forward hand with African brothers and sisters in the spirit of sincerity, good faith and real results.

He remarked that China and Africa have set a stellar example for new kind of international relations by emphasizing and supporting each other on every step.

Further Xi announced that China’s bilateral relations with all the African nations having diplomatic ties with China would elevate to a strategic partnership level.

Modernization at the heart of it

Xi in his speech made important remarks regarding modernization. He said that as we approach the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, we are fully committed to building a great modern socialist nation in every aspect and achieving national rejuvenation through a uniquely Chinese path to modernization.

He underlined six important points regarding modernization: just and equitable, open and win-win, follow people first approach, diversity and inclusiveness, eco friendly and lastly uphold peace and security.

Xi gave ten partnership action plans for China Africa modernization efforts.

the Partnership Action for Mutual Learning among Civilizations.
the Partnership Action for Trade Prosperity.
Partnership Action for Industrial Chain Cooperation.
the Partnership Action for Connectivity.
the Partnership Action for Development Cooperation.
the Partnership Action for Health.
the Partnership Action for Agriculture and Livelihoods.
the Partnership Action for People-to-People Exchanges.
the Partnership Action for Green Development.
the Partnership Action for Common Security.

Additionally, Xi announced that to implement the ten partnership actions, the Chinese government will provide RMB 360 billion yuan of financial support through the next three years. Furthermore Xi explained that China will encourage and support African nations in issuing panda bonds in China to strengthen our results driven cooperation across various sectors.

Ending his address, Xi noted that on the path to modernization, no one, and no country, should be left behind. He reassured commitment to move Chinese and African people to the path of modernization and promote modernization of the Global South.

Conclusion

Lastly, at the heart of these efforts is the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), designed to evolve the traditional relationship between Africa and China into a multifaceted, mutually beneficial partnership. As African nations have gathered for the upcoming summit, the future trajectory of the China-Africa partnership requires thoughtful reassessment. FOCAC has consistently been the foundation of this relationship, acting as the key platform for policy alignment and joint initiatives.