By Olalekan A. Babatunde
The recently concluded 9th Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Beijing from September 4 to 6, 2024, is expected to shape diplomatic, trade, and economic ties between Africa and China for years to come. The summit saw the attendance of heads of state, government officials, and delegations from 53 African countries, excluding Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), surpassing their attendance at the last United Nations General Assembly in New York. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the event as the “largest diplomatic event” the country has hosted in recent years, calling it a “grand reunion of the China-Africa big family.” The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, was also in attendance.
Representing Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, and West Africa as the Chairman of ECOWAS, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended the summit as a guest of President Xi Jinping of China. President Tinubu praised the FOCAC platform for fostering a mutually beneficial partnership between Africa and China, highlighting the continent’s dynamic population, productive economy, abundant natural resources, and vast investment opportunities. The event was hailed as a success not just for its optics but also for its outcomes.
Following speeches, bilateral meetings, deliberations, and the signing of MOUs, the summit culminated in the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and a 10-Partnership Action Plan under the broad theme “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a Community with a Shared Future.” This high-level gathering further deepened cooperation between the two sides and scaled up modernization efforts in the Global South.
President Xi Jinping, commenting on the significance of the meeting, stated, “On the path to modernization, no one and no country should be left behind.” His address, along with a pledge to invest $51 billion on the continent, set the tone for the future of China-Africa relations. The declaration, however, contains crucial resolutions that urge African leaders to re-strategize their social, political, and economic policies to profoundly improve the living conditions of their people. For instance, the Beijing Declaration explicitly outlines goals for jointly building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era. The two partners, Africa and China, committed to working together to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world characterized by lasting peace, universal security, and shared prosperity, among other global governance goals.
At the core of the document are calls to address the legacies of external imperialism and neo-colonialism in Africa, to seek justice through reparations, to uphold the values of the World Trade Organization, and to deepen cooperation on climate change, energy transition, and innovation. The declaration also emphasizes promoting high-quality Belt and Road Cooperation and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, boosting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), trade integration, and economic development, increasing foreign direct investment (FDI), improving the development of African SMEs, ensuring transparency in financial transactions and debt burdens, and implementing the Global Development Initiative (GDI) to address food security. Additionally, it calls for deeper scientific, technological, and industrial cooperation, active contributions to peace and stability in Africa, enhanced cultural exchanges, and mediation in the Gaza-Israel and Ukraine-Russia conflicts.
It is critical for African leaders to focus on the outcomes of the summit. If they follow through on the agreements and declarations, they could address the perennial development challenges that have plagued the continent for centuries. The basic step is to reset their approaches to governance, which will help revamp local economies and ease poverty and inequality. If successfully implemented, these initiatives could create 1,000 jobs as promised by Chinese businesses and train approximately 60,000 Africans, mainly women and young people, with the potential to foster entrepreneurship. The summit’s decisions are strong and relevant enough to empower African countries to break free from exploitation and perpetual dependency, allowing them to play an inclusive role in international governance and build a community that serves the interests of their people.
The declaration’s importance cannot be overstated, especially given the Western criticism of the perceived unequal power dynamics in trade relations between Africa and China. While the past 24 years of FOCAC, the Belt and Road Initiative, and other multilateral initiatives have shown tangible results in changing the continental landscape in infrastructure, agriculture, and people-to-people exchanges, African leaders must ensure that these multilateral statements are pursued to fruition.
All items in the declaration align with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and other regional integration and cooperation goals like ECOWAS and SADC. Africa is undoubtedly vital to China, but it is in Africa’s best interest to ensure that the Beijing pronouncements are translated into a pan-African vision. If African leaders genuinely join hands, they can build a community of people and institutions that will advance modernization and distribute the continent’s resources, such as lithium, cobalt, oil, gas, copper, and diamonds, to improve the well-being of their citizens. It will also ensure that the refinement of these minerals is done primarily in Africa.
The summit’s outcomes should unlock more opportunities for African traders and investors to expand their presence in China. Market opportunities in China are vast, and African leaders have a role to play in encouraging and supporting their citizens to overcome obstacles that might hinder the 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 across the continent, can be accelerated with their counterparts in China to further facilitate, expand, and improve the efficiency of commercial activities to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
As the 9th summit ended, many Africans hope that in the coming months, and before the next FOCAC summit in three years, more jobs will have been created for young workers, and ongoing conflicts in Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia will have ceased. For the over one billion people on the continent, this is how the outcome of the summit will be measured.
In Nigeria, reports indicate that President Tinubu and President Xi, during their talks, elevated their ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” and agreed to “build a high-level Nigeria-China community with a shared future.” President Tinubu expressed his commitment to replicate China’s infrastructure in Nigeria, having witnessed the industrial wonders of the host country and the importance of discipline and commitment to national service in Chinese society. As someone who has visited China multiple times, I can attest that the behavior, mindset, resilience, and attitudes of the Chinese people are key drivers of their transformation and development. Nigerians and other Africans should draw lessons from this example.
African leaders must not forget that the meeting occurred amid geopolitical competition from superpowers, including former colonialists and traditional Western allies, who are also wooing Africa through summits. Even India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Turkey have hosted similar conferences. Each is pursuing its interests and seeking influence in Africa. One might wonder how many summits African leaders must attend to make positive changes on the continent. As described by Shola Lawal in Al-Jazeera, “China is unmatched as the continent’s economic partner.” The recent political changes and events in the Central Sahel are reminders that African leaders must implement policies and programs that alleviate their people’s suffering.
In conclusion, I see the relationship between China and Africa flourishing. Africa’s FOCAC pivot will largely determine the continent’s future prosperity if political will and determination are exerted in cooperation with China. 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. Negotiating favorable loan terms is crucial. According to Kevin Gallagher of the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University, Chinese loans “do not appear to be exorbitantly expensive.” He added that the rates China offers are significantly cheaper than those Africa can get from Western bondholders, who hold the majority of African debt. When critics describe Africa-China cooperation as “debt trap diplomacy,” it implies that African leaders cannot govern effectively. This narrative should be challenged. Already, the International Development Association says, “the global debt crisis is hindering many governments from providing essential services.”
Therefore, the excitement and optimism the world witnessed in Beijing last week should not be allowed to fade. Africa’s strategic importance to Beijing is immense, and much of it is encapsulated in the declaration. As Kawala Xie warned in the South China Morning Post, while African leaders are attracted to the summit’s opportunities, they should also be cautious of the political and economic volatility that could pose challenges to their partnership with Beijing. Since China is leading the modernization of the Global South and promoting an alternative development initiative to Western ones, opposition to these goals remains strong. Africa, offering China enormous opportunities, must ensure that beyond last week’s strategic political success, both sides drive public good and achieve win-win outcomes.
Dr. Babatunde is a Fellow at Nigeria’s Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, a Part-time Professor at China’s Zhejiang Normal University; writes via austinebabatunde@yahoo.com
