A Closer Community In Making
China, Africa forge extensive cooperation for a shared future
The universe has but one Earth and mankind shares the same homeland. Facing the uncertainties and unrests that are going on in our contemporary world, no individual or country can independently solve these problems. International cooperation is the only way to deal with all these challenges in the multi-polar world with increasing economic globalisation, cultural diversification and social informatisation. This well illustrates the necessity of building a community of shared future for humanity, a concept introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 when he spoke at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in Russia.
To further explain the concept, Xi said, “Mankind, by living in the same global village in the same era where history and reality meet, has increasingly emerged as a community of shared future in which everyone has in himself a little bit of others.”
The concept has since become China’s guideline for conducting international cooperation, reflecting its worldview in the new era and its vision for a fair, equitable and just global order built upon the values of openness, inclusiveness, mutual respect, and care for the environment.
In October 2017, the concept was written into the Constitution of the Communist Party of China and included in the Constitution of China the following year. It was endorsed by the United Nations and written into multiple UN resolutions.
The concept is also well received by the world community, including African countries, and thus has become a guiding principle and goal for China-Africa cooperation. At the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in September 2018, the two sides decided to build an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future and lead China-Africa relations and cooperation into a new era.
In the white paper titled China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals published in late 2021, China-Africa cooperation is regarded as an exemplary model for building a global community of shared future.
It is deemed exemplary not only for the important values such as equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit solidified during China-Africa cooperation, but also due to the great achievements made over a long period and in a wide range of areas.
In August 2022, Zambia commissioned a memorial park built in honour of Chinese nationals who died during the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway line in the 1970s, refreshing memories of how the Chinese and African peoples worked together for their shared future at the early stages of China-Africa cooperation.
Today, China and Africa have seen their cooperation elevated to new levels in traditional areas such as infrastructure, agriculture and health, while breakthroughs are made in newer areas such as digital and green development. Real results in these various areas have laid solid foundations for building an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future.
As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the concept, ChinAfrica looks at different aspects of China-Africa interactions in a bid to observe, from a China-Africa perspective, how the lofty goal of a community of shared future is being practiced and what benefits it is bringing to the people.