Seizing Opportunities and Overcoming Difficulties to Promote the Development of China-Africa Relations

Lu Shaye

A Continent of Hope

Africa is currently experiencing a period of profound and complex change.But despite many difficulties and challenges, the continent is moving towards an era of peace, stability and development.

1.The political and security situation is one of “overall stability and local turbulence”.

The African security situation has been turbulent for some time.Hotspots in Mali, the Republic of Central Africa and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo occurred together, causing serious concerns in the international community.Western powers stepped up their interference in African issues, increasing the uncertainty of the African situation.But the above issues remain localized and have not spread to a large extent.With the active engagement of the African Union (AU), sub-regional organizations and the international community, these issues have been controlled to varying degrees and addressed progressively.Africa is now in an era of peace and stability rarely seen since independence.As multi-party elections become the primary means for change of government in African countries,the impact of leadership changes on political stability has abated.With the steady development of the African collective security mechanism, the African Union and the sub-regional organizations are gaining momentum in addressing these issues by themselves.Hotspots including Somalia and North and South Sudan have cooled down.The maintenance of peace and stability in Africa also conforms to the interests of various parties in the international community.These factors will further push forward the African situation to develop in the direction of stability and governance.

The sustained and rapid growth of the African economy in recent years has made it a highlight of the global economic recovery.

2.Economic growth is accelerating, with its structure being optimized.

Africa suffers from weak economic foundations, an undiversified economic structure, over-population, backwardness in agriculture and manufacturing, and an irrational international system.As a result,Africa remains in a weak position in the global economic landscape.But the sustained and rapid growth of the African economy in recent years has made it a highlight of the global economic recovery.Africa’s economic growth rate in 2012 was 4.8%.Among the twenty countries with the fastest growth rate in 2012, eleven countries were from sub-Saharan Africa.

Apart from energy resource exports, infrastructure construction,telecommunications, investment and consumption have become important engines for stimulating economic growth in Africa.Its endogenous power and the capability to withstand external risks have been significantly enhanced.In exploring a development path suitable for national conditions, African countries have reached a consensus on achieving self-reliant, inclusive and sustainable development.The international community has increased its investment in Africa,and is optimistic about the prospects for Africa’s development and market potential.Foreign direct investment in Africa grew from $15 billion in 2002 to $46 billion in 2012.Emerging market countries in particular have made substantial progress in cooperation with Africa.Thanks to both internal and external factors, Africa’s economy is expected to maintain its momentum of rapid growth in the next few years.

3.Integration process forges ahead despite difficulties.

Africa is at a low level of integration.Fiscal difficulties and plural policy orientations inside Africa have become prominent recently and have thus undermined the capacity and efficiency of collective action in Africa.As the international situation experiences profound and complex changes, Africa has intensified its will to change its situation through seeking strength from unity to achieve a more favorable environment for development.Politically, the African Union, sub-regional organizations and regional powers strive to maintain regional peace and stability, pushing forward African collective security mechanism building, with a view to addressing African affairs in an African way.

In recent times, the African Union and sub-regional organizations have intervened and played an active role in controlling conflicts after military coups or revolts took place in Mali, Guinea-Bissau,the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Central Africa.Economically, regional economic integration is proceeding steadily based on the two pillars of infrastructure and FTA building.The AU has devised the strategy of African multinational crossregional infrastructure planning, setting the goal of establishing a larger FTA by 2017.The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have started negotiations on establishing a larger FTA.The year 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the African Union.African countries attach importance to strengthening the consensus on pan-Africanism and the revitalization of the African continent, to push forward the early realization of the peace, prosperity and strength though African unity.

BEIJING, China - A ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 19, 2012.

4.The geostrategic significance of Africa is rebounding.

African countries, bearing in mind that unity is strength, have kept the same voice on major global issues such as UN Security Council reform, climate change and sustainable development, and actively put forward African candidates or candidate countries for the presidency of the World Bank and the location of Green Climate Fund headquarters, resulting in growing international position and influence of Africa.

The major powers have also changed the previous practice of ignoring Africa by increasing their focus and input in Africa.Traditional powers such as the United States and France have adjusted their Africa policy, while emerging market countries such as China, Brazil and India are also stepping up their cooperation with Africa.African countries have more choices in expanding international cooperation, and their confidence in participating in international affairs is further enhanced.The changing international situation, especially the evolution towards a multipolar world and the rise of developing countries as a group, will create a favorable environment for Africa and further enhance its international influence.

We maintain that opportunities outweigh challenges in the development of Africa.As long as African countries remain united,choose the correct path of development, and relentlessly advance the cause of peace and development, as described in the feature introduced inThe Economistmagazine in early March 2013, Africa will become an “emerging Africa” and “hopeful Africa”, and the 21st century will be that of a rising Africa.

Africa will become an“emerging Africa” and“hopeful Africa”, and the 21st century will be that of a rising Africa.

Great Progress in China-Africa Relations

China and Africa have a long-standing friendship.Strengthening the China-Africa friendly and cooperative relationship is an important cornerstone of China’s foreign policy, as well as China’s long-standing and firm strategic choice.

Since the beginning of the new century, especially since the establishment of the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership,China-Africa relationship has entered a period of rapid and allround development, becoming a highlight of China’s diplomacy.The relationship has demonstrated the following features.

First, China-Africa political relations have enjoyed all-round development.The past few years have witnessed frequent China-Africa high-level exchanges.Since 2010, more than 40 African heads of state or government paid visits to China or attended important activities in China such as the Shanghai World Expo, the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Summer Davos Forum.Chinese leaders have also visited Africa many times.In late March 2013, newly-elected Chinese President Xi Jinping flew to South Africa to attend the fifth meeting of the leaders of the BRICS countries and the dialogue between leaders of BRICS countries and South Africa, and afterwards visited Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of the Congo.

Comprehensiveness is an important feature of China’s relationship with Africa in contrast to some other countries.China never treats countries differently according to their size or wealth, but develops friendly and cooperative relations with all countries in Africa.In addition to the all-round growth of bilateral ties, China has strengthened relations with the African Union and sub-regional organizations in Africa, and firmly supports African integration and unity.The AU Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which was built by China and inaugurated in early 2012 stands as symbol of China’s firm support for Africa in seeking strength from unity.

Second, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has yielded fruitful results.China adheres to the concept of “Being able to establish oneself, one should help others to do so; developing oneself, also seek to develop others.” It is trying to help African countries improve their development capabilities and provides assistance to Africa to the best of its abilities.

There is strong complementarity in the economies of China and Africa.Mutual benefit and common development are the most prominent feature of China-Africa relations in the new era.China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has grown significantly.In 2010, China-Africa trade value was no more than $10 billion, but the figure approached $200 billion in 2012.Since 2009, China has been Africa’s largest trading partner, while Africa has become China’s second-largest project contracting market and the fourth largest overseas investment destination.

To date, China’s total investment in Africa has reached $15 billion,with more than 2,000 Chinese companies in Africa investing in agriculture, telecommunications, energy, processing manufacturing and catering services, etc.Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis, China-Africa economic, trade and investment cooperation soared against the negative international environment, which has not only supported the socioeconomic development of the two sides, but also made a positive contribution to the global economic recovery and development.

Third, China-Africa cooperation on international and regional affairs has kept expanding.For all its development, China has not forgotten where it has come from and always seen itself as a developing country.China stands firmly with African countries in their efforts to uphold sovereignty and dignity, independently explore development paths and seek strength through unity.

While adhering to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, China steps up its constructive engagement in Africa’s peace and security affairs.China advocates the new security concept featuring equality, cooperation,mutual trust and mutual benefit,and supports African countries in settling disputes through dialogue.China maintains that the hotspot issues in Africa usually are not simply security issues and therefore cannot be resolved by military means alone.Instead, they must be dealt with in a comprehensive way, and the relationship between peace and development must be handled in a balanced way.China maintains that the settlement of hotspot issues in Africa cannot be separated from the support and help of the international community, but the international community should earnestly respect the AU and African countries’ leading role in resolving the African issues and refrains from abusing its authority.

China adheres to the concept of “Being able to establish oneself, one should help others to do so; developing oneself, also seek to develop others.”

China and Africa also maintain close communication and coordination on global issues such as the financial crisis, climate change and the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations to safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

Fourth, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa have intensified.“Friendship between people holds the key to sound relations between states.” To push forward China-Africa cultural and people-to-people exchanges, China and African countries jointly organized the “Culture in Focus”, “Program of China-Africa Mutual Visits between Cultural Personnel” and“Happy New Year” activities in recent years.The “China-Africa Joint Research and Exchange Program”, since its launch in March 2010,has completed a total of 64 projects including research programs,seminars, academic exchanges and book publishing.By the end of 2012, 31 Confucius Institutes and six Confucius Classrooms have been established in 27 African countries.Since 1963, China has sent medical teams to African countries.Over the past 50 years,China has sent 18,700 medical personnel to 48 African countries.In 2012, the number of exchanged personnel between China and Africa reached 1,570,000.Nigerian singer Uwechue Emmanuel and Sierra Leonean singer Maria have a good reputation in China.Similarly, Chinese martial arts and acrobatics are very popular in Africa, and the hit Chinese TV seriesA Beautiful Daughter-In-Law Erahas been translated into Kiswahili and aired in Tanzania.

The hit Chinese TV seriesA Beautiful Daughter-In-Law Erahas been translated into Kiswahili and aired in Tanzania.

Fifth, China-Africa cooperative mechanisms are perfecting.China has established bilateral strategic dialogue mechanisms,foreign ministries’ political consultation mechanisms and joint/mixed commissions on economic and trade cooperation with African countries.The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation created jointly by China and Africa in 2000 has become an important platform for China and Africa to launch a collective dialogue and an effective mechanism for practical cooperation.At all of the previous forums,China put forward cooperative measures to strengthen practical cooperation and support Africa’s development, which were hailed by African countries.Under the framework of the cooperation forum,both sides have held the China-Africa Business Conference, as well as sub-forums on agriculture, science and technology, finance, culture,think tanks, youth, civil society, women, media, etc, further enlarging and enhancing the areas of cooperation between China and Africa.

The two sides jointly formulated the cooperative blueprint for the next three years at the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in July 2012.Chinese President Hu Jintao announced China’s new measures to support Africa’s peace and development on behalf of the Chinese government, covering five priority areas of investment and financing, aid, African integration,people-to-people exchanges, and African peace and security, injecting new vitality into the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership.2013 is the launch year for implementing these measures.China and Africa are stepping up efforts to implement the relevant programs.

China-Africa cooperation benefits both the Chinese and African peoples.Despite irresponsible remarks and criticism about China-Africa cooperation, China-Africa cooperation conforms to the interests of African countries, and is widely received and hailed.

For example, U.S.scholar Deborah Brautigam in her bookThe Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa,gave an impartial view of China-Africa cooperation, saying that China’s aid to Africa “honors the governing power of African governments”, “giving more than promised” and “taking responsibility for aid projects from beginning to end, with less expenditure and more contribution”.UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that “deepening partnership is bringing gains to both sides.It is creating opportunities for African countries to diversify their economies, create jobs, and improve healthcare and education.It is contributing to the world economy at a time when traditional drivers are in economic downturn.”1UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, in Beijing, July 19, 2012.

Soberly Coping with Opportunities and Challenges

In general, China-Africa relations at present and in the near future are in an important and promising period of strategic opportunities.

In terms of the international situation, peace, development and cooperation remain the trend of the times.The overall strengths of developing countries, including China and Africa, are being enhanced,pushing the international situation in a direction that is more balanced and favorable toward developing countries.It is increasingly imperative for China and Africa to strengthen cooperation, and the external conditions for China-Africa cooperation are becoming more favorable.

In terms of their respective development, Africa is now in a period of stability and rapid development that is rare in its history, while China has entered the decisive stage of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.Africa has abundant natural and human resources, and huge potential market, while China has adequate funds and mature and applicable technology.As China and Africa are at different stages of development, the economies of China and Africa are highly complementary.More importantly, China and Africa regard each other as development opportunities and both sides have a strong willingness to further strengthen cooperation.

Besides, belonging to the same camp of developing countries,China and Africa have a deep traditional friendship.Based on its long-standing cooperative principle of “equality, mutual benefit,cooperation and win-win results” for Africa, China’s aid to Africa has no-strings attached, receiving a universal welcome from African countries.As a result of China’s more than 30 years of reform and opening up, China’s comprehensive national strength andinternational influence have remarkably increased.Most African countries want to learn from China’s successful experience and grasp the opportunities presented by China’s development, hence their desire to cooperate with China has overwhelmingly strengthened.

This file picture taken on October 20, 2010 shows students using their mobile phones after class at the Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg.

At the same time, the changes in international situation and the situation in China and Africa also pose some problems, or “growing pains” to China-Africa relations.

1.The scale of cooperation grows but improvement in its quality is less than sufficient.Chinese companies in Africa mostly concentrate on low-end fields such as trade and project contracting.They may scramble for profits vis-à-vis the African people to some extent, giving rise to increasing frictions between the two sides; while few Chinese companies run businesses in high-end and strategic fields such as logistics, electricity, energy, shipping, and in the core business links such as management and operations, which runs counter to the long-term competitiveness and sustained development of Chinese companies.There are many causes, for example, problems in the guiding principles and business notions, and the lack of talented personnel with international horizons.

2.China’s engagement in Africa’s peace and security affairs is not deep.China has long adhered to the principles of mutual respect and equality when engaging in African affairs, and will not impose its will on others and behave arrogantly with African people as some countries do.China remains objective and impartial, refraining from taking sides or supporting one side or the other when promoting dialogue and peace talks in Africa.As a result, China is welcomed by African countries.

In recent years, with the rise of China’s comprehensive national strength and international influence, African countries have greater expectations that China will engage in peace and security affairs in Africa.There is a gap between China’s actual capabilities as a developing country and the expectations of African countries towards China.China needs time to accumulate experiences.

3.Some Chinese citizens in Africa need to improve their moral standards.China-Africa cooperation has been developing rapidly in recent years, with growing people-to-people exchanges between the two sides.The general quality of Chinese citizens in Africa is good, but there are a few cases of looking down on African people, disrespecting local customs and even damaging the interests of local people.Some enterprises aroused the discontent of local people due to their lack of awareness of localizing their business operations in Africa and their poor performance in integrating with local communities and readily giving back to them.All this has hindered the sound development of China-Africa cooperation, and harmed China’s image in Africa.

4.The external environment for developing China-Africarelations remains complex and challenging.With other major international players increasing their input in Africa, China is facing mounting pressures from competitors in Africa.More importantly,not all people in the international community would like to see the development of China-Africa relations, and some are accustomed to judging China-Africa relations with a Cold War mentality.They attack and defame China’s policy towards Africa, affecting the healthy and stable development of China-Africa relations.

Opening Up a New Horizon for Diplomacy with Africa

Africa holds a place of fundamental importance in China’s overall diplomacy.Good relations with Africa are highly relevant to the country’s great goal of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and deepening reform and opening up in an all-round way.In the future, we will follow the guidance of the decisions taken at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) as well as the Scientific Outlook on Development, seize opportunities, bolster confidence, emancipate our minds, overcome difficulties and adopt a more scientific approach to diplomacy with Africa with a focus on the following four points:

First, we should more purposefully make promoting the great development of China-Africa relations the top priority in applying the Scientific Outlook on Development to diplomatic work with Africa.We should have an objective and comprehensive understanding of the status quo and the development trend of these relations, without looking down upon ourselves or being arrogant.We should be aware of our opportunities and advantages as well as challenges and weaknesses.In adherence to the basic principle that“only development counts”, we should continue to commit ourselves to developing China-Africa relations to ensure that the fruits of our shared interests in cooperation are even greater.

Second, we should more purposefully place putting people first at the heart of China’s position on developing China-Africa relations.We should continue to implement this principle on the diplomatic front with a view to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens overseas.At the same time, the state is “man writ large”.We should more purposefully put national interests at the top of our agenda and do our utmost to uphold them.In the final analysis, upholding national interests means safeguarding the fundamental and common interests of the Chinese nation.If overseas Chinese do things that run counter to national interests, we should not cover up their wrongdoings.

“China-Africa cooperation is for people in China and Africa, relies on the Chinese and African peoples and delivers benefits to them.”

The people-first principle should also be extended to African people.When cooperating with African countries, we should value people over material interests in a bid to fully realize the goal that“China-Africa cooperation is for people in China and Africa, relies on the Chinese and African peoples and delivers benefits to them”and take China-Africa relations to a higher level and a new frontier.

Third, we should more purposefully make pursuing comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development the basic requirement for boosting China-Africa cooperation.To begin with, political ties,economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges must advance side by side.While focusing on cementing diplomatic and official ties, we should place greater emphasis on playing a role in Africa’s peace and security affairs and promoting exchanges and cooperation with African non-governmental organizations, media outlets and think tanks.

Moreover, we should continue to forge ahead with all-round diplomacy with Africa.While setting great store by developing relations with all friendly countries in Africa, we should strengthen cooperation with the African Union and sub-regional organizations in the spirit of supporting African unity, development and integration.In addition, we should step up efforts to promote the transition and upgrading of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.When cooperating with Africa, we should attach importance to projects that assist African development and strengthen cooperation in areas such as infrastructure construction, agriculture and manufacturing.We should also prioritize projects aimed at improving people’s livelihoods and work more closely in areas such as healthcare and education.Last but not least, we should devise national strategies on, pay greater attention to and put more efforts into speeding up the training of professionals specializing in African affairs and the improvement of the moral standards of Chinese citizens.

Fourth, we should more purposefully take the holistic approach as the fundamental approach toward solving problems in China-Africa cooperation.In accordance with the requirements in the report to the 18th National Congress f the CPC, we should resolutely discard all notions and systems that hinder efforts to pursue scientific development.We should follow the holistic approach to the letter.We should further improve our systems, adjust our policies in keeping with the times and face up to shortcomings and weaknesses with a down-to-earth attitude.We should keep solving problems with a commitment to reform and innovation to ensure that China-Africa cooperation continues to progress.