Forward Thinking
China-africa cooperation opportunities in the POST-COVID-19 era
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the global economy, the relationship between China and African countries was on an upward trajectory, with near-zero interruptions. Significant milestones have been registered, more so in the infrastructure development, manufacturing, and technological innovations, which have been key to propelling the continent to sustainable economic growth and development for the last two decades. Most of the cooperation initiatives between China and Africa have solely been informed by the existing development gaps in Africa, not the much-hyped farcical supply-driven development that a section of economic pundits have been waxing lyrical about. The Sinoafrican relations have blossomed under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s leadership focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative, the Forum on China–africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the China International Import Expo (CIIE).
The Belt and Road Initiative has transformed the face of the continent’s infrastructure landscape with completion of key projects such as gas and oil pipelines, shipping lanes, railways, roads, ports, economic corridors, among others. The Belt and Road Initiative projects have played a key role in reducing the hitherto infrastructure gaps that are instrumental in laying a strong foundation for economic takeoff. Thus far, China has built over 6,000 km of railways and roads in Africa, nearly 20 ports and more than 80 large-scale power facilities, 45 gymnasiums, over 130 hospitals and medical centers, and more than 170 schools, which have brought significant progress to Africa’s socio-economic development. These projects are key pillars for Africa’s
The Belt and Road Initiative has transformed the face of the continent’s infrastructural landscape with completion of key projects such as gas and oil pipelines, shipping lanes, railways, roads, ports, economic corridors, among others.
industrialization in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and AU’S Agenda 2063.
FOCAC, which was inaugurated in 2000, focuses mainly on trade, investment and technical cooperation, resulting in multi-sectoral growth of the Sino-african bilateral cooperation. The new kid on the block has been the CIIE, whose objective is to open-up the Chinese market to imports from other countries, particularly from Africa.
From the three initiatives above, it is imperative to note that China’s support to Africa has majorly centered on infrastructure, trade and investment. Due to the economic disruption caused by the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global supply chains, it has been argued that leading global economies will focus on domestic economic recovery strategies, consequently limiting resource availability for supporting least-developed and developing economies in the world. There is no doubt that the coronavirus has posed major challenges to Sino-african relations. COVID-19 has reduced resources that would otherwise be available for implementing development programs in favor of domestic efforts to fight the spread of the virus, search for the vaccine and jumpstart the economy. There is also the issue of debt cancellation and moratorium with some African countries so that they can create a war chest for POST-COVID-19 economic recovery.
Despite these challenges, China remains committed to deepening its relations with Africa. In fact, the advent of the COVID19 pandemic may just have opened a new chapter for the Sino-african relations.
So what collaboration opportunities exist for China and Africa in the POST-COVID-19 era?
First and foremost, China can partner with African economies to foster digitalization. There is no doubt that the biggest winner in this COVID-19 period are the digital platforms and the reality of the emergence of the digital economy is here for everyone to see. China has been regarded as a great source of technology that has transformed various sectors of the economy in Africa. In the midst of this digitalization wave, more companies are adopting globalization strategies targeting the African market under the auspices of the African Continental Free Trade Area. So, the cooperation between China and Africa in the digital space will boost intra-african trade, promote technology-driven industrialization and contribute to job creation. Additionally, it will also open up the regional value chains that will facilitate Africa’s meaningful integration into the global economy and improve its prospects as the new frontier for attracting foreign direct investment.
China and Africa can partner to shore up local manufacturing. Most African countries
have realized that the constant overreliance on global supply chains may, after all, be their economic Waterloo. To ameliorate this, African countries can learn from China on how they should propel innovation and adopt a “Made in Africa” manufacturing model. The Chinese investment stock in Africa today is in excess of $100 billion (the largest investment by a single country on the continent) with more than 10,000 Chinese companies, about onethird of which are engaged in manufacturing. The POST-COVID-19 era offers Chinese enterprises in Africa an opportunity to work with local manufacturers to develop from single industrial parks to a comprehensive modern industrial system. This will help Africa become the next “factory of the world.” Chinese experience in manufacturing offers Africa valuable lessons for the sector’s growth and its contribution to the gross domestic product.
COVID-19 has exposed the world’s health system as being quite vulnerable to pandemics. Many countries’ health systems, especially in less developed nations in Africa, have been overwhelmed by the high rates of infections and remain dependent on international assistance. Africa’s quivering health care challenges remain a thorn in the flesh of the continent’s development agenda. Despite the support that the Chinese government, state-owned enterprises and the Chinese entrepreneurs have extended to African countries in the fight
The cooperation between China and Africa in the digital space will boost intra-african trade, promote technology-driven industrialization and contribute to job creation.
against COVID-19, there is still a huge gap in the technical know-how, medical equipment, modern health facilities, pharmaceuticals, among others. The Chinese can help bridge this gap to achieve universal health coverage with a focus on technology transfer and pharmaceutical capacity around essential high-quality medicines. This partnership remains invaluable to Africa.
The reassurance given by the Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng during the China Development Forum held in November 2020 that China will continue to implement wider, broader and deeper opening up under the dual circulation strategy in the 14th Five-year Plan (2021-25) offers Africa more opportunities to cooperate with China in manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, finance, green development, trade an investment facilitation, poverty reduction, public health, peace and security. CA