Olalekan A. Babatunde
The just concluded 9thsummit of the Forum of China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) between Africa and China in Beijing from 4 to 6 September 2024 was expected to shape diplomatic, trade and economic ties between the two sides in the foreseeable future. The Heads of State, Government, and Delegations of the 53 African countries excluding Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) attended the meeting, thereby surpassing their attendance at the last United Nations General Assembly in New York. The China’s Foreign Affairs described the attendance as the “largest diplomatic event” the country has hosted in recent years, adding that it was a “grand reunion of the China-Africa big family”. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, was also at the occasion.
In his attendance at the event and as a guest on a state visit with a special invitation of President Xi Jinping of China, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu represented Nigeria, the Africa’s largest economy, and also West Africa as the Chairman of ECOWAS. While praising the FOCAC platform for fostering a mutually beneficial partnership between Africa and China, he also emphasised the dynamic population, productive economy, abundant natural resources and sufficient investment opportunities of the continent. The event was a huge success not just for the optics, but also for the outcomes.
Following the speeches, bilateral meetings, deliberations, and signed MOUs and the Beijing Declaration and 10-Partnership Action Plan jointly adopted at the end of the high-level gathering under the broad theme “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a Community with a Shared Future”,one could not but conclude that the boundaries of bilateral and multilateral relations have been pushed to further deepen cooperation on both sides, and scale up modernization of the Global South.
According to President Xi, while commenting on the significance of the meeting, said, “on the path to modernization, no one and no country should be left behind.” Indeed, besides pledging to invest $51 billion on the continent, his address set the tone for the two sides’ burgeoning relations for the foreseeable future. However, the declaration issued contains stellar resolutions that speak to African leaders to re-strategize social, political and economic policies and programmes that will profoundly improve the living conditions of their peoples. For instance, the Beijing Declaration explicitly outlined goals on jointly building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.The two partners, Africa and China, promised to work together to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity, promote global governance, among others.
At the core of the document are calls to address legacies of external imperialism and neo-colonialism in Africa; bringing justice to Africa through reparations; uphold values of World Trade Organization; deepen cooperation to tackle issues such as climate change, energy transition and innovation, green development projects, promoting high-quality Belt and Road Cooperation and the African Union’s 2063 Agenda, boost AfCFTA, trade integration, and economic development, increase FDI and improve the development of African SMEs, transparency on financial transactions and debt burdens; and to uplift the implementation of Global Development Initiative (GDI) to address food security; to deepen scientifically, technological and industrial cooperation; and making active contributions to peace and stability in Africa; enhance cultural exchanges and build bonds; and to mediate a peaceful resolution of Gaza-Israeli and Ukraine-Russia disputes.
But, why is it so critical for the African leaders to focus on the outcomes? If African leaders follow through the agreements and the declaration, they would address the perennial development challenges that have bedevilled the continent for centuries. The basic step is to reset their approaches to governance that will help revamp crippled local economy, ease poverty and inequality. If worked through, it will deliver the jobs the Chinese businesses promised to create, and train about 60,000 Africans, mainly women and young people, with potential to translate into entrepreneurship. Already, some regions have changed politically due to decades of foreign dominations, and also citizens have started showing strains of external political alignments and all that. Thus the summit’s decisions are strong and relevant enough to ace African countries from exploitation, perpetual dependency and to empower to play inclusive role in international governance that will build a community that will serve the interest of their people.
Of great importance is the fact that the declaration should be taken more seriously by Africa and China, as western criticism often pointed to unequal power or imbalance of trade relations between the two. Though, the past 24 years of FOCAC, and even Belt and Road Initiative, and other multilateral initiatives have demonstrated some tangible results in changing the continental landscapes in infrastructure and agriculture development; improved exchanges in people-to-people connectivity, and several others. The continental leaders should ensure that the multilateral statements are pursued to fruition.
All items in the declaration are at the heart of the African Union’s 2063 Agenda, and other regional integration and cooperation goals like ECOWAS and SADC. No doubt that Africa is vital to China, but it is African interest to focus more on ensuring that the Beijing pronouncements are translated to pan-African vision and ideal. If African leaders could genuinely join hands they would build a community of peoples and institutions that will advance modernization and distribute the continent’s resources like lithium, cobalt, oil and gas, copper and diamond to better their peoples’ wellbeing. It will ensure that refinement of these minerals is mostly done in Africa.
The summit’s outcome should unlock more opportunities for African traders, investors to expand their presence and business in China. Market opportunities in China are vast. African leaders have a role to play in encouraging and support their citizens to mitigate any obstacles that might hinder free-flow of exchanges with China. For instance, the functions of the ministries of trade, industry and investment, as well as the chambers of commerce in the continent can be accelerated with their counterparts in China to further facilitate, expand and improve efficiency of commercial activities in order to build a community with shared future for mankind.
As the 9th summit ended, it is the expectations of many Africans that in the coming months and before the next FOCAC summit in three years’ time, more jobs would have been created for the teeming young workers, and the ongoing wars in Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo including Somalia crisis would have ceased. As far as the over one billion people in the continent are concerned, this is how the outcome of the summit will be measured.
Coming to Nigeria, according to reports, President Tinubu and President Xi during their talks have elevated their ties to that of a “comprehensive strategy partnership” and also agreed to “build a high-level Nigeria-China community with a shared future.” It is good to hear President Tinubu’s commitment “to replicate China’s infrastructure in Nigeria’ having seen the wonders of industrial and of the host, and most of “the importance of discipline and commitment to national service” of the Chinese society. As a person that has visited China a number of times, the behaviour, mindset, resilience and attitudes of Chinese to life can be described as the key impetus to their transformation and development. Nigerians and other Africans should draw lessons from that example.
The African leaders must not forget that the meeting came amid the geopolitical competitions by superpowers from their former colonialists and traditional Western allies who are also wooing them through summits. Even India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Turkey have also hosted them to similar conferences. Each is pursuing their interests and seeking influence in Africa. One could wonder the number of summits the leaders would have to attend to make positive changes in the continent. As described by Shola Lawal in Al-jazeera, “China is unmatched as the continent’s economic partner”. The recent political changes and happenings in the Central Sahel are pointers to the fact that African leaders must put in place policies and programmes that will ameliorate peoples’ sufferings.
In all, I see the relations between the two flourishing. Africa’s FOCAC pivot will to a great extent determine the future of the continent’s prosperity if political will and determination are exerted to the cooperation with what China is offering. But more importantly, African citizens need to be more educated, and leaders should be more accountable, transparent and responsive to loans and other contractual agreements made with China or other international partners. Best-term negotiated loans are desirable. As it is today, Chinese loans, according to Kevin Gallagher of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, “do not appear to be exorbitantly expensive.” He added that the rates China is lending are significantly cheaper than those Africa can get from Western bondholders that hold the majority of African debt. Whenever critics say “debt trap diplomacy” to describe Africa-China cooperation, it implies African leaders cannot govern well. This refrain should be guided against. Already, the International Development Association says, “the global debt crisis is hindering many governments from providing essential services.”
Therefore, the excitement and optimism the whole world saw in Beijing last week should never be allowed to die to impress and deliver change. Africa’s strategic importance to Beijing is huge. Many of it has been encapsulated in the declaration. As Kawala Xie warned on South China Morning Post, Africa leaders are allured with the summit’s opportunities, they should not be wary of the political and economic volatility such posed to partnership with Beijing. Since China is leading the modernization of the Global South and pushing for a separate development initiative as an alternative to Western ones, stiff opposition remains to their goals. Since Africa is also offering China enormous opportunities, the general expectation is that, beyond the last week’s strategic political success, both should drive public good and win-win outcomes.
Dr Babatunde is a Fellow at the Nigeria’s Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, a Part-time Professor at the China’s Zhejiang Normal University; writes via austinebabatunde@yahoo.com
