"Africa is eager to understand and learn from China": People from various countries in China and Africa discuss African industrialization and China-Africa cooperation
Africa is regarded as the rising star of the "Global South", but its industrialization process still faces challenges. In September this year, the new China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit will be held in Beijing, and the two sides will have in-depth exchanges on governance experience and discuss cooperation and development plans.
"Africa is eager to understand and learn from China and to embark on a development path with African characteristics." At the international conference "Building Africa's Global Development Transformation Partnership: The Role of Multilateral Development Banks and China" held by the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies and the China Association for African Studies on June 28, African scholars expressed their expectations for the new China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit and practical cooperation between China and Africa.
On that day, dozens of government officials, experts and scholars, social organization personnel from China and many African countries, as well as representatives of international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank attended the meeting to discuss topics such as Africa's development transformation, BRICS countries and African industrialization, and China-Africa cooperation in the new era.
The scholars attending the meeting first mentioned the challenges and opportunities currently facing Africa's industrialization development.
Amar Kassa, director of the Center for Industrial, Urban and Infrastructure Policy Research at the Ethiopian Institute of Policy Studies, pointed out that the challenges mainly include the serious infrastructure deficit in Africa, which accounts for about 30% to 60% of the global infrastructure deficit; the lack of highly skilled personnel; the underdeveloped financial market, the difficulty of financing the manufacturing industry; and the lack of innovation capabilities of enterprises. At the same time, African countries have abundant resources and demographic dividends required for industrialization, and generally hope to seize the opportunities of the fourth scientific and technological revolution.
"Africa's development and security situation is becoming increasingly complex. African leaders are thinking more and more deeply about one issue." Jafar Gheletu, director of the Ethiopian Institute of Foreign Affairs, pointed out that China and Africa have similar historical experiences. In the 1960s and 1970s, the per capita GDP of many African countries was higher than that of China. Today, Africa's development is slow, and China has become the world's second largest economy. What are the reasons and forces behind this? Africa is eager to understand and learn from China.
Scholars attending the meeting pointed out that by strengthening cooperation between multilateral development banks and emerging countries, the international community can be further encouraged to participate in Africa's infrastructure construction and sustainable development projects, increase investment in Africa, strengthen capacity building, technology transfer and knowledge sharing in Africa, so as to promote economic growth and industrialization in African countries.
The scholars at the conference spoke highly of the China-Africa friendly relations and practical cooperation, especially China's support for Africa's industrialization, connectivity, green transformation and other fields. The scholars at the conference pointed out that under the guidance of President Xi Jinping's policy of "real, pro-African and honest" and the correct concept of justice and interests, the development of China-Africa relations has entered the "fast lane", and the leaders of China and Africa have reached an important consensus on building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
"China supports Africa's industrialization and technology transfer, promotes Africa's economic diversification and modernization, and provides education and training opportunities for thousands of African young people," said Mesai Mulugeta, associate professor at the School of Development Studies at Addis Ababa University.
Pussy Sawadogo, director of the Burkina Faso Institute of Advanced International Studies, pointed out that China provides assistance to African countries in capacity building. Burkina Faso and China have not had diplomatic relations for long, but the two countries have implemented many economic cooperation projects involving poverty alleviation, agriculture, trade, health and other fields. China extended a helping hand to Burkina Faso during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries are becoming increasingly frequent.
Garth Shelton, professor of international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, pointed out that China is currently South Africa's largest trading partner and an important source of investment. China's great achievements in modernization have provided inspiration, guidance and opportunities for the economic development of other developing countries. Driven by the "Belt and Road" initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China-Africa cooperation has entered a "golden age".
"China-Africa cooperation is different from the West." Many African scholars specifically mentioned that the China-Africa partnership is based on mutual respect, solidarity and cooperation, and conflict resolution, and China does not interfere in Africa's internal affairs. China has transformed from a simple African trading partner to a long-term participant in African investment, construction, and peace. More importantly, China supports African governments and institutions to go their own way. The West often strengthens its own governance model when cooperating with Africa.
The advancement of China-Africa cooperation has always been accompanied by some "noise", such as the hype that "China benefits more than Africa". Zhang Chun, a researcher at the African Studies Center of Yunnan University, pointed out that these claims are untenable. China-Africa cooperation is mutually beneficial and win-win. From the perspective of Africa's sustainable development, China focuses on three sets of balances: first, the balance between absolute and relative benefits, aiming to achieve the sharing of interests between the two sides; second, the balance between large-scale infrastructure and small-scale livelihood projects, aiming to achieve a combination of macro and micro economic growth; third, the balance between bilateral cooperation and third-party cooperation, aiming to maximize the positive spillover effects of third parties.
The scholars attending the meeting also expressed their expectations for the new China-Africa Cooperation Forum Summit to be held in September and China-Africa friendly cooperation.
In terms of strategic guidance, scholars at the meeting pointed out that they hope that China and Africa can further promote the docking of development strategies, strengthen exchanges of experience in state governance, explore ways to accelerate the realization of modernization, and jointly open a new chapter in China-Africa cooperation. Scholars at the meeting suggested that the new summit could consider formulating medium- and long-term strategic plans and short-term guarantee implementation mechanisms.
In terms of cooperation priorities, the participating scholars hope that the new summit will achieve more cooperation results in areas such as infrastructure, green energy, and digital technology, promote the quality and upgrade of China-Africa cooperation, and continue to be at the forefront of international cooperation with Africa.
In terms of international participation, African scholars hope that the new summit will continue to support Africa in enhancing its representation and status in international affairs; support the promotion of BRICS cooperation, absorb more African countries to join, stimulate Africa's development potential, and help Africa's industrialization process; hope that China will continue to put forward various development initiatives and crisis intervention measures, support Africa in finding its own distinctive development path, and use African solutions to solve African problems.
