Belt and Road Initiative and China-Africa Cooperation: Towards Targeted Alignment and High-quality Development
Research Fellow at the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in September 2018 has opened a new chapter for the Belt and Road Initiative to boost the development of Africa in a targeted manner. The Summit adopted the Beijing Declaration Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (20192021) . These two documents point China and Africa in the right direction for developing their relations. During the Summit, the African Union as well as 28 African countries signed with China the intergovernmental memorandum of understanding on jointly advancing the Belt and Road Initiative. Together with the other nine countries that had signed MOUs before the summit, 37 African countries are signatories to such MOUs, accounting for 70% the FOCAC Beijing Summit participating countries. China’s National Development and Reform Commission suggests that the Commission will push for the signing of agreement on Belt and Road cooperation with more countries in the future so that all the countries across the African continent join the cooperation to enjoy the outcomes of “Five Connectivities” in the
areas of policies, infrastructure, finance, trade and people-to-people bond among others and tangible benefits generated by the Belt and Road Initiative.
From “Rough Sketch” to “Intricate Painting”: Targeted Alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and African Development
In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to build a ChinaAfrica community with a shared future that pursues win-win cooperation. On August 27th of the same year, President Xi Jinping used the vivid metaphor of an “intricate painting” to envisage the future of the Belt and Road Initiative at the symposium marking the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. He pointed out the overall layout of the Belt and Road Initiative had been completed and that in the next stage, this work of fine art should be developed from the contours of a rough sketch to an intricate painting that will be more precise, targeted, and detailoriented. As the alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and African deDOI:
velopment progresses from the “rough sketch” to the “intricate painting”, we need to see to it that the Belt and Road Initiative and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the AU Agenda 2063 and the development programs of African countries better complement each other.
At the level of the UN, the Belt and Road Initiative and the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits have been incorporated into the UN resolutions. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the largest developing country, China has significantly contributed to the successful conclusion of the “UN Millennium Development Goals” in 2015 and will also continue to work for the realization of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda through the “Belt and Road Initiative”. As the continent where a large number of developing countries concentrate, Africa is also a crucial region for the fulfillment of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Belt and Road Initiative should align and complement with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the development programs of African countries to achieve the 17 SDGs including promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
At the level of African region, the past 20 years have witnessed the adoption of such important development programs by African countries as the Action Plan for the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa, the Declaration for Infrastructure Development Plan in Africa and the Agenda 2063, hoping to turn the 21st century into a century of African development through industrialization, inclusive economy and African integration. In January 2015, China and the African Union have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on major infrastructure networks, realizing the alignment between China and Africa at the level of the AU. According to the MOU, China will, within the framework of the Agenda 2063 , strengthen cooperation with African countries in the fields of railways, highways, regional aviation and industrialization to make conducive contribution to promoting the integration process of African countries. At the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018, the AU also signed a MOU with the Chinese government to jointly advancing the Belt and Road Initiative. In the future, China-Africa cooperative projects will be multilaterally implemented with the joint efforts of several countries or regions. At the level of African countries, this stage of “intricate painting” requires the Belt and Road Initiative to be connected with the development programs of African countries in a targeted manner. To achieve this goal, concrete steps should be taken to study the conditions of each African sub-region and each country and thus gain sound knowledge of the political and social stability of the region and each country and the medium
and long-term national development strategies and prioritized areas for development. At the meantime, Chinese provinces and cities should also examine their own conditions and identify the enterprises and quality overcapacity that are suitable to be transferred and invested in African countries.
In summary, the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018 has already unfolded a scroll for China and Africa to jointly advance the Belt and Road Initiative. It is the time for the both sides to complete the “intricate painting” that accurately connects the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative with Africa.
“Five Connectivities” Lay the Cornerstone of China-Africa Cooperation within the Framework of the Belt and Road Initiative
The Vision and Action on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road jointly issued by China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce on March 28th, 2015 proposed to promote policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and peopleto-people bonds. From the perspective of the development of China-Africa relations, the “Five Connectivities” of the Belt and Road Initiative basically cover all critical areas of China-Africa cooperation that has been carried out in recent years and also build a solid foundation for shifting the Belt and Road Initiative towards high-quality development.
In terms of policy coordination, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation established in 2000 serves as an important mechanism and platform for policy coordination between China and Africa. The FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018 marks its third convening since establishment. Two summits were held within just three years since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward in 2013. It is even extremely rare in the history of international diplomacy. Moreover, the two summits held in 2015 and 2018 both adopted action plans for China-Africa cooperation involving a total amount of USD$ 60 billion. These action plans effectively combine highlevel policy coordination and the concrete implementation of projects, thus adding new content and momentum to the policy coordination mechanism.
In terms of facilities connectivity, backward infrastructure is a major bottleneck restricting the development of African economy. Africa lacks financial resources for infrastructure construction, with an annual funding gap of USD$ 170 billion. The continent also faces the challenges of insufficient mechanical equipment and incompetent technical and management expertise. Infrastructure construction is the area where China’s competitive edge can complement what Africa lacks. China and Africa have both seen the accelerating infrastructure cooperation since the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative. A report released by the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) in 2017 shows that from 2011 to 2016, China was the largest source of infrastructure investment in Africa with an annual input of USD$ 12 billion. In the past six years, China-built railways, highways, bridges and ports among other infrastructure can be seen across Africa, which upgraded the infrastructure network of the African continent and effectively improved the investment environment in African countries and the living standards of the local people.
The goal of unimpeded trade is to enable benign integration and interaction between efficient and convenient logistics and trade and investment on the basis of infrastructure connection. With 54 countries and a total population of 1.3 billion, Africa boasts bountiful natural resources and manpower and embraces a broad market space and huge potential for development. But the continent is restrained by its laggard economy, insufficient development funds and experience, and uncompetitive technologies. Chinese economy has been developing robustly after over 40 years of reform and opening up and China has gained technologies, equipment, talents and development experience. By examining the elements of economic development, we find that China and Africa have complementary advantages and a firm foundation for win-win cooperation.
Financial integration provides strong financial support for the Belt and Road Initiative. China has the largest foreign exchange reserve, which should be put into stable investment. In his speech at the opening ceremony of the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit in December
2015, President Xi Jinping pledged an increase of USD$5 billion to the ChinaAfrica Development Fund and the Special Loan for the Development of African SMEs respectively. So far, the ChinaAfrica Development Fund has invested more than USD$ 4.6 billion in over 90 projects in 36 African countries, covering infrastructure, production capacity and equipment, agriculture and people’s livelihood and energy resources among other fields.
People-to-people bond provides the public support for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative. The non-governmental friendly exchanges between China and Africa not only strengthen communication and mutual understanding between non-governmental organizations and thus effectively refute the fallacies spread by the West such as the myths of “neo-colonialism”, “plundering African resources” and “debt diplomacy”, but also improve African people’s livelihood and bring the tangible benefits of China-Africa cooperation to all. Compared with other four prioritized areas of “Connectivities”, the people-to-people bond can only be established with patience and determination. Such bond is also very inclusive and extensive and can be achieved through cooperation in various fields such as education, tourism, medical treatment, science and technology and culture and in many forms, such as the joint efforts of the government and civil society organizations. Since the Fourth FOCAC Ministerial Meeting held in 2009 when the efforts “to expand the exchange of culture and experiences and encourage the exchange and cooperation among scholars” was included in the “new eight measures”, we have seen more and more exchanges between Chinese and African culture, talents, media, youth and women, and volunteer servicse.
“Eight Major Initiatives” will Push China-Africa Cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative towards High Quality Development
“Eight Major Initiatives” for ChinaAfrica Cooperation adopted at the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018 is a declaration, plan and commitment made by China and Africa to jointly advancing the Belt and Road Initiative and striving for high-quality development. The leaders of China and Africa reached a consensus at the summit that in the next three years and for some time to come, China-Africa cooperation will focus on eight major areas including industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, health care, people-topeople exchange and peace and security. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech at the opening ceremony of the Summit and the detailed interpretation of the “Eight Major Initiatives on the website of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce indicate that China-Africa cooperation has entered a new stage featuring intensive and meticulous efforts and highquality development.
The first is an industrial promotion initiative. To work towards the goals of African industrial and agricultural development set in the Agenda 2063, China will, on the basis of the First China International Import Expo, launch the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, which is to serve as a business information platform and window for ChineseAfrican businesses to carry out such activities as outcome display, networking and investment and cooperation. The first Expo was held in Changsha, Hunan from June 18th to 20th, 2019. The Expo has organized such economic and trade symposiums as investment promotion of African countries and Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and cities and China-Africa economic and trade cooperation consultation meetings to facilitate the initiation China-Africa economic and trade cooperation projects and signing of cooperation agreements and implementation of the Chinaproposed African industrial promotion initiatives. In addition to setting up new platforms, China will also build a number of economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa and upgrade some existing ones to attract more Chinese investment in traditional and emerging sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, financial services, trade logistics and digital economy.
The second is an infrastructure connectivity initiative. Over the past decade or so, China and Africa have carried out a series of major cooperation in infrastructure construction and gradually built connected ports, bridges, roads and networks. Such cooperative projects boost local economic development while laying a solid foundation for Africa to embrace an era of industrialization. In the future, China and Africa will need to work on high-quality infrastructure connectivity and ensure the sustainability of infrastructure construction. To this end, the two sides should jointly complete the comprehensive and ancillary work of the projects such as design, construction and operation as well as align the projects with the African industrial promotion initiative to push forward comprehensive development and operation of the entire chain including upstream and downstream sectors of infrastructure and industrial parks.
The third is a trade facilitation initiative. China and Africa have enjoyed rap
At the level of African countries, this stage of “intricate painting” requires the Belt and Road Initiative to be connected with the development programs of African countries in a targeted manner.
idly growing trade for a long time, but most African countries are suffering huge trade deficits with China. To foster China-Africa trade facilitation and highquality development in the future, it remains a challenge to expand African exports to China and reduce the deficit. Restrained by Africa’s incompetent raw material processing capacity and laggard quality inspection technologies and management capacity, many highquality agricultural products are often difficult to be delivered to the Chinese consumer market. Therefore, further efforts should be made to help Africa improve its raw material processing capacity, modernize its customs and quality inspection services, and conduct free trade agreement negotiations to open up new space for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
The fourth is a green development initiative. The African continent enjoys the late-comer advantage and thus can avoid going down the path of pollutiondevelopment-governance that has been taken by the previous industrialized countries. The new concept of sustainable development should be adopted to push forward the continent’s industrialization process. China has a lot to share in pursuing environmental-friendly industrialization in Africa. In the next three years, China will undertake 50 projects for green development and ecological and environmental protection in Africa to expand exchanges and cooperation with Africa on climate change, clean energy, desertification prevention and control, and water and soil erosion.
The fifth is a capacity building initiative aiming to fully tap Africa’s demographic dividend. According to UN statistics, among Africa’s 1.3 billion population, 40% are under the age of 15 and 70% are under the age of 30. SubSaharan Africa has the world’s youngest population, but also the world’s highest unemployment rate and the lowest education attainment rate. As a large number of Belt and Road China-Africa cooperative projects are being implemented in Africa, it has become a top priority to train African human resources, especially the skilled workers. To this end, in the next three years, China will set up ten Luban Workshops to provide vocational training for Africans and provide 50,000 Africans with the opportunities to receive training in China.
The sixth is a health care initiative to boost the construction of public health systems in Africa. The vulnerability of Africa’s health and epidemic prevention systems exposed by the outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa in 2014 suggested that it is necessary and urgent to build public health systems in Africa. The Belt and Road programs should focus on the building of such medical and health care facilities that are helpful to people’s livelihood and bring them a sense of fulfillment and happiness. To this end, in the next three years, China will upgrade 50 medical and health aid programs for Africa, train more medical specialists for Africa and continue to send medical teams to Africa and carry out “Brightness Action” medical service tour across Africa to treat the blind.
The seventh is a people-to-people exchange initiative aiming to cement the friendship between the Chinese and African peoples. People-to-people exchanges should not be limited to exchanges of cultural organizations and tourism cooperation, but should be expanded to exchanges of ideologies and joint research. When the China-Africa Institute was officially inaugurated on April 9th, 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a letter of congratulation to the Institute. He hopes that the Institute will help draw on both sides’ academic resources, enhance understanding and friendship between the Chinese and the African peoples, and provide sound ideas and advice for China-Africa cooperation as well as the cooperation between the two sides and other parties, to contribute to the development of the China-Africa relationship and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. The Institute is currently conducting China-Africa joint research projects, with another 32 joint projects to be launched soon. In the mean time, a series of other academic exchanges and cooperation projects will also be launched.
The eighth is a peace and security initiative. In recent years, the scope of China-Africa security cooperation has been expanded to include participation in the UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, anti-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts in Africa, and discussions and exchanges on security cooperation. The ChinaAfrica Defense and Security Forum, the first of its kind, was hosted by China’s Ministry of National Defense in Beijing from June 26th to July 10th, 2018. The Forum was attended by 50 military and defense delegates including Chiefs of the General Staff and Deputy Chiefs of the General Staff from 50 African countries such as Sierra Leone and South Sudan and the African Union. They held in-depth discussions around the theme of “Working Together and Mutual Assistance” and visited China’s army, navy and air force. In the next three years, China will set up a China-Africa Peace and Security Cooperation Fund and the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum. Fifty security assistance programs will be launched to advance ChinaAfrica cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and in areas of law and order, UN peacekeeping missions, fighting piracy and combating terrorism.
In summary, the “Eight Major Initiatives” clearly suggest that the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Africa cooperation have entered a new stage featuring targeted alignment and highquality development. China-Africa cooperation is embracing a new situation of comprehensive and deep cooperation covering a wide range of sectors. The scope of cooperation has been expanded from the “Five Connectivities” to new areas that benefit people’s livelihood, such as green development, capacity building, health care, and peace and security. The joint efforts of China and Africa to advance the Belt and Road Initiative are also conducive to poverty reduction and industrialization in Africa and play an exemplary role in enhancing South-South cooperation and the international community’s cooperation with Africa in the new era.