By Xia Yuanyuan
Chinese and African officials and experts lauded achievements in China-Africa co-operation and called for closer ties between China and Africa at a webinar to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) on Wednesday.
Under the guidance of Focac, China and African countries have seen increasingly broader co-operation consensus, a wider co-operation realm and greater co-operation impetus, said Lu Cairong, vice-president of China International Publishing Group (CIPG), at the webinar.
Lu said media was an important channel for people in China and Africa to understand each other. China-Africa media co-operation and exchanges should be further strengthened under the framework of Focac.
Chinese and African media should strengthen direct exchanges and co-operation through dialogues in various forms, exchange of news products and personnel and joint reporting to promote the understanding and mutual trust among the Chinese and African people.
“Also, we call on Chinese and African people to launch multi-level and multi-realm people-to-people exchanges and deepen mutual knowledge about Chinese and African civilisations through constantly innovating ways of exchange and co-operation,” he said.
With the theme 20 Years of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation: Prospects and Perspectives, the webinar was hosted by Beijing Review, a media outlet under CIPG. Officials and media professionals from China and African countries reviewed the important role of Focac in promoting China-Africa co-operation in all fields in the past two decades, and offered suggestions on the future development of China-Africa co-operation.
The consensus under Focac of building a community with a shared future has transformed China-Africa relations, pushing China-Africa co-operation into a new era, said Cedric Thomas Frolick, South African National Assembly chairperson: Committees.
Long and deep friendship and mutually beneficial economic co-operation are the driving forces of the stronger and fruitful co-operation between China and Africa, he added.
Zhao Yanbo, Chinese ambassador to Botswana, said that over the past 20 years, Focac had bolstered high-level interactions and political trust between China and Africa, delivering a leap in China-Africa relations from “a new type of partnership” to “a comprehensive strategic and co-operative partnership”.
“I am convinced that with our joint efforts, Focac is sure to deliver more for the 2.6billion Chinese and African people in the course of building an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future,” he said.
Siyavuya Mzantsi, the editor of the Cape Times, said Focac had become an important platform for collective dialogue and an effective mechanism for practical co-operation between China and Africa.
At present, the world is experiencing an epidemic crisis. He believed the two sides would be able to step out of this dark period in human history and usher in a bright future for the common development and progress of China and Africa.
Hannah Ryder, chief executive of Development Reimagined and former head of policy and partnerships of UNDP China, said Focac at 20 offered an opportunity for us to look back and also look forward. Via Focac, China can be the key partner to help African countries resume as quickly as possible in post-Covid-19 era to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Charles Onunaiju, director of the Centre for China Studies in Abuja, Nigeria, highlighted the important role Focac had played in promoting multilateralism and African integration. He said the challenge for Africa was to create a platform for advanced integration.
Now, a framework for practical network to address the key lacuna in African economic integration - a proper framework for genuine integration of African economies - is provided by Focac in synergy with the Belt and Road Initiative. Focac had filled an important vacuum in the historical challenge of pan-Africanism, he said, adding that Focac had delivered real, practical results.
Rudolph L Boy, secretary-general of Botswana-China Friendship Association and Senior Lecturer of the University of Botswana, also highlighted the benefits of China-Africa co-operation, using the case of special economic zones (SEZs). Establishment of SEZs in Africa represents China’s effort to promote development in Africa, he said.
He Wenping, a researcher at the China-Africa Institute, identified three key areas of priority for future co-operation under the Focac framework. The first area she mentioned was health co-operation, especially in light of the pandemic. She also said reviving the economy and bringing it back on track in the post-Covid period should be a priority for China-Africa co-operation.
She suggested that projects related to people’s livelihoods, such as drinking water, electricity and network building, needed to be strengthened.
Miles Gengxu Nan, President of Global Max Media Group, pointed out that among China-Africa co-operation areas, agricultural co-operation was a priority. It has played an important role in promoting the development of agriculture in Africa. Together with China’s experience in poverty reduction, it can help in ensuring food safety in Africa.
Li Jianguo, associate editor-in-chief of Beijing Review, said China-Africa co-operation was faced with challenges not seen before. The webinar provided an opportunity to share perspectives on the contribution of Focac in promoting China-Africa co-operation and what lay ahead for the forum as well as for the overall China-Africa co-operation. The webinar was co-organised by Independent Media Group, People’s Daily Online SA, Beijing Review Africa Bureau and Global Max Media Group.
* Xia is a journalist with ChinAfrica magazine.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL.