Experts praise China’s role in Africa

‘Their economic presence can now happen through equity and investment’

China has shouldered its international responsibilities and strengthened collaboration and solidarity with Africa in the fight against Covid-19, global experts say.

On Wednesday, President Xi Jinping made a keynote speech at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against Covid-19, which he presided over via video link, assuring African countries that China will continue supporting Covid-19 containment measures on the continent.

While calling for solidarity and collaboration to combat the pandemic, Xi also unveiled a series of measures to help Africa deal with the public health crisis, including providing technical and material support and debt relief for African countries.

Nasser Bouchiba, president of the Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development in Morocco, said China has been shouldering its international responsibilities and obligations.

The convening of the summit means medical collaboration between China and Africa is moving to a higher level, “which undoubtedly will have a profound significance for the construction and improvement of African countries’ public health systems”, he said.

As long as China and Africa are united, difficulties will be overcome, Bouchiba said.

Moshood Bello of Keele University, in Staffordshire, England, said the decision of China to support Africa during the pandemic is a welcome development.

“At this stage of the pandemic in Africa, a lot of countries are finding it difficult to provide appropriate responses to defeat the virus,” he said.

“Unlike the rest of the world, Africa is finding it difficult to lock down due to inadequate healthcare systems. Providing health and economic support for Africa at this time will significantly help a lot of countries to combat the coronavirus and safeguard the economy.”

Covid-19 is a governance test in international collaboration, said Joel Ruet, president of The Bridge Tank think tank in Paris.

“While African countries have claimed debt relief, as an economist I think it is time to see if Chinese economic presence in Africa can now happen through equity and investment on the side of continued lending. The financial relation has to develop a balanced approach over various classes of assets.”

This could set an agenda for the next meeting of the Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation, Ruet said.

Stephen Chan, professor of international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London, said he was impressed by Xi’s statement that China will cancel the debt of African countries, and he urged the world to provide debt relief to address the economic distress caused by Covid19.