FOCAC summit to start a new stage for China-Africa relations

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from September 4 to 6 with the theme of "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday. 

Leaders of FOCAC's African members will attend the summit at the invitation of the forum. Representatives of relevant African regional organizations and international organizations will attend relevant forum events.

This is the first gathering of the China-Africa family in Beijing since the 2018 FOCAC summit, and the summit will start a new stage in the development of China-Africa relations and write a new chapter in the construction of the China-Africa community with a shared future, the ministry said. 

The focus of this cooperation forum is to further align development strategies with African countries and to address the collective demands of more than 50 African nations, experts said, noting that the significance lies in building consensus among the Global South. 

The forum's senior officials' meeting and ministerial conference will be held on September 2 and 3 to prepare for the summit. From September 4- 6, a series of events including the summit's opening ceremony, welcome banquet and performances, parallel high-level meetings, the China-Africa entrepreneur conference, and bilateral meetings will take place, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said at a press conference on Tuesday. 

Mutual respect, equality, and joint consultation are key features of FOCAC, Lin said, noting that both sides are maintaining close communication and coordination to prepare for summit activities, continuing to promote the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation. 

The summit is taking place against the backdrop of intense great power competition, so some Western countries such as the US will closely watch it, Shen Shiwei, non-resident research fellow at the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

For African countries, the summit is highly anticipated, as they look forward to what new blueprints for cooperation will emerge, the expert noted. 

Through the FOCAC summit, China and Africa will carry forward traditional friendship, deepen solidarity and cooperation and open up new space for accelerating the common development of China and Africa, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in March. 

As African countries realize that they need to explore a development path that suits their national conditions and hold their future in their own hands, China will continue to stand firmly with Africa and support an Africa that is truly independent in thinking and ideas, Wang said.

Given the heightened challenges Africa faces in the post-COVID era, there may be even closer cooperation between China and Africa, Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"This may include financial support. Additionally, there may be cooperation in Africa's industrialization and modernization efforts, particularly in infrastructure development across regions," Song said.

In line with the demand for African integration, there will also be measures to support the construction of integrated infrastructure, the expert added. 

The summit will highlight areas of focus for China-Africa cooperation, especially in light of current power politics, and trends toward "deglobalization" and trade protectionism, some experts said. 

"The emphasis will be on investment in industries to promote modernization. Over the past few years, FOCAC has focused on small yet impactful projects that improve livelihoods, poverty alleviation, governance exchange and infrastructure development," Shen said, noting that these areas will be of particular interest and are key highlights of the summit.

The summit is expected to explore how China and Africa can participate more in international affairs, promote the development agenda of African countries, and the Global South, experts said. 

"Some African countries like South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia have joined the BRICS mechanism. The summit will emphasize how China and Africa can better defend justice and promote a fair and reasonable international order in current global affairs," Shen said.