Africa-firstdiplomacy

Chinese foreign minister’s traditional January visit to Africa underscores the vigor and robustness of Sino-african cooperation

China-africa cooperation, and the diplomacy invested to drive it, is not mere ordinary and routine traditional international diplomacy of ambiguities and double talk, but a framework of useful intercourse to produce tangible results and evolve new strategies to consolidate functional partnerships.

Following in the more than two-decade-old diplomatic tradition, which has seen Chinese foreign ministers head to Africa as the starting destination of their international diplomatic engagements every year, Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, traveled to five African nations in January. The high-level visits, which began in Madagascar on January 7, took him to Zambia, Tanzania, the Republic of the Congo and finally Nigeria, where he wrapped up his trip on January 12.

According to Geng Shuang, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, “Relations with developing countries, including [those in] Africa are the bedrock of Chinese diplomacy. Chinese foreign ministers have visited Africa during their first foreign trips each year over the past two decades. The practice has become a much treasured diplomatic tradition for China.”

Beyond the symbolism of this evolving Chinese diplomatic tradition, the Africa-first China diplomacy underscores the vigor and robustness of Sino-african cooperation. The ever-widening frontiers and deepening contents of this cooperation are underwritten by a shared destiny and common vision, built through the historic trajectories of solidarity, strategic partnership and now, advanced comprehensive cooperation. on core issues of Nigeria’s economic reconstruction, which included a framework agreement between the National Development and Reform Commission of China and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on developing cooperation on industrialization, infrastructure, production capacity and investment. During the visit, China pledged to provide $14.45 million in free assistance for agricultural science and technology demonstration centers and solar traffic lights projects in Abuja. Beside this, China has provided around $4 billion in concessionary loans in total to Nigeria to fund major projects such as Abuja-kaduna Railway, Abuja Light Rail, Lagos Rail Mass Transit System and several others.

As has become obvious, Africa’s economic revival cannot subsist or rely on sustenance on commodity extraction and exports as weak demand and low prices have taken huge tolls on Africa’s economies. Now the path of industrialization is again getting attention, with China playing a key role in this regard. China has set up a fund for China-africa production capacity cooperation with an initial contribution of $10 billion.