By Charles Onunaiju
IN the first week of December 2015, Chinese and African leaders gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the second historic summit of the forum on China-Africa Cooperation, FOCAC. Apart from the FOCAC that has held every three years since the founding of the forum in 2000, the first summit of the heads of state and government of the forum held in Beijing in 2006. Nearly ten years after, the groundbreaking and epochal second summit held on African soil and was resoundingly successful for its several far-reaching resolutions.
The Chinese leader, President XI Jinping, presented a strongly worded speech in which almost every line was marked with practical steps on key issues of new vistas and fresh opportunities for re-energized Sino-Africa co-operation.
The definitive and specific issues outlined in the speech were a refreshing break from platitudes and artfully crafted ambiguities that are characteristic of international summits and other global and regional conclaves. President Xi Jinping brought the clarity and sincerity of purpose, for which he is now famous, both at home and abroad, to bear, in articulating a broad agenda that would drive Sino-African co-operation in the next three years and beyond. He announced ten cooperation plans that covered the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges and peace and security.
To actualize the smooth implementation of the package, President Xi Jinping offered 60 billion U.S dollars of funding support, which would cover 5 billion USD of free and interest-free loans, 35 billion USD of preferential loans and export credit on more favourable terms, 5 billion USD of additional capital for the China-Africa development of African SMEs each and a China-Africa capacity co-operation fund with initial capital of 10 billion USD.
Stressing that “China-Africa relations have reached a stage of growth unmatched in history, President Xi urged joining “of hands to open a new era of China-Africa win-win cooperation and common development”.
The 60 billion USD package of support mechanism offered by China, according to observers, would help African countries break the three development bottlenecks of backward infrastructure, manpower deficit and inadequate funding. It will consequently unlock and accelerate industrialization and agricultural modernization and actualize Africa’s strategic vision of independent and sustainable development.
To provide the strategic roadmap that would drive China-Africa relations to new levels and wider frontiers, President Xi Jinping proposed in Johannesburg last December, the upgrading of the “new type of China-Africa strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership”, and also identified “a high degree of political mutual trust as the foundation of China-Africa friendship”. In a joint declaration, China and Africa affirmed their belief that “China and Africa’s development strategies are complimentary and characterized by mutual benefit, equality, openness, inclusiveness, accountability and that they demonstrate the possibilities and opportunities of solidarity, mutual support and respect among developing countries”.
And, as a key to mutual political trust which President Xi earlier alluded to as the foundation of China-Africa cooperation, the declaration reaffirmed “our commitment to the One-China policy,” and pledged that both sides will continue to support each other’s efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests and to promote the causes of national reunification and regional integration respectively”.
However, as China-Africa cooperation mechanism is built on practical results, six months after the meeting in Johannesburg, key elements of the decisions at the summit are being implemented.
According to the past immediate envoy of China to Nigeria, Ambassador Gu Xiaojie, “the Chinese side is engaged with various Nigerian government departments with close communication and co-ordination to further strengthen co-operation in areas of railway, highway, power, agriculture and human resources training according to the FOCAC summit consensus”. In other parts of Africa, a number of early harvest projects have already materialized with the completion of the Addis-Ababa – Djibouti railway and Mombassa – Nairobi railway. Meanwhile, the China-Africa Fund for Industrial Cooperation has been set up and is fully operational.
As part of Africa’s keenness to maximize the outcome of the Johannesburg summit, several African countries have established inter-ministerial coordination mechanism to implement the results of the summit. China, on her own, has long established the follow-up committee and is in constant touch with Africa through mutual visits and consultations with African envoys in China to follow up on the outcomes of the summit. The outlook of the implementation of the outcomes of the second summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is reassuring and bright.
As President Xi Jinping explained, China-Africa cooperation has reached a crucial milestone that is unmatched in history, but given the huge stakes in the cooperation, especially the bright prospects it holds for Africa’s sustainable and inclusive development, the scope of its frontier is far more ahead in the future than the mileage it has presently covered.
China-Africa cooperation has bright prospects, especially as the pivotal Nigeria-China relation is vigorous, and on a stable growth.
*Onunaiju, a Journalist, is the director of the Centre for China Studies, Abuja.