Forging a Closer China-Africa Community with a Shared Future through Joint Fights against the COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic that has been ravaging the world in 2020 poses a centenary test for the global public health system and international cooperation in non-traditional security. In this war without gunpowder smoke against the pandemic, China and African countries stand in solidarity with mutual assistance, writing a new chapter of friendship in trying times. But as China and Africa join hands in the fight against the pandemic, difficulties and challenges emerge, calling for full cooperation in building a community of health, revitalizing the economy and forging a “public opinion field” conducive to China-Africa friendly cooperation in the post COVID-19 era.
China and African Countries Join Hands in the Fight against the Pandemic
Both severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and African countries join hands by offering political support, providing medical supplies and assistance and carrying out multilateral international cooperation, demonstrating the brotherhood in thick and thin that share a common future.
At the height of China’s battle with the pandemic, African countries stood in solidarity with China in this battle and did their best to lend confidence and strength to the Chinese people. African leaders called Chinese President Xi Jinping at the earliest time to express their sympathies and support. The 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council issued a communiqué to express confidence in China’s ability to win the battle. Egypt and South Africa among other African countries have timely sent anti-epidemic medical supplies to China. Equatorial Guinea and Djibouti, two of the least developed countries, have respectively donated US$ 2 million and US$ 1 million to the Chinese government to fight the pandemic. In civil society, African people have offered their political support and sent warm greetings. An example is the “Dressing in Red and Standing for China” event initiated by the staff of the Standard Bank of South Africa, where tens of thousands of employees all dressed in red tops and held banners and cards to cheer for China and Wuhan.
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the African continent, China rushed in with assistance, sent antiepidemic supplies and medical teams at the earliest time possible and trained medical staff. As of June 2020, China had delivered bountiful medical supplies to over 50 African countries and the African Union, sent medical teams consisting of 148 members to 11 African countries, and held multiple video conferences between Chinese and African experts to share experience. More than 40 Chinese medical teams have conducted nearly 400 training programs that offered training to over 20,000 local personnel. Chinese civil society organizations and Chinese enterprises operating in Africa also took action to provide their anti-epidemic assistance for Africa. For example, the Jack Ma Foundation
and the Alibaba Foundation have provided plentiful anti-epidemic supplies to almost all African countries in three rounds. Their efforts have contributed to Africa’s fight against the pandemic and fully demonstrated the humanitarian care of Chinese enterprises and civil society organizations.
At the international and multilateral levels, China directs the international community’s attention to delivering assistance to Africa and takes the lead in action. At the video conference of the 73rd World Health Assembly held on May 18th, President Xi Jinping announced China’s five measures to support global anti-epidemic efforts, including providing US$ 2 billion of international assistance over the next two years, setting up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China, establishing a cooperation mechanism for Chinese hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals, making COVID-19 vaccines accessible and affordable in developing countries, and implementing the Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the poorest countries. All these five measures could benefit Africa’s anti-epidemic efforts. The measure of matching up Chinese hospitals with 30 African counterparts is highlighted as a targeted and effective means to assisting Africa in the battle with the pandemic. A large number of international cooperation initiatives proposed by China fully exhibit China’s full support for African countries in fighting the pandemic and the mission China has undertaken as a major country. They also demonstrate China’s pursuit of the ideal of building a community of health and a ChinaAfrica community with a shared future.
At the crucial time of Africa’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, China, South Africa (the rotational chair of the African Union) and Senegal (the African Co-Chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation) jointly initiated the convening of the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 on June 17th. The Summit was attended by leaders of China and over a dozen African countries, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission as well as United Nations (UN) SecretaryGeneral António Guterres and World Health Organization (WHO) DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as special guests from international organizations. The Summit conveyed to the world China’s belief in standing in solidarity with Africa in the fight against the pandemic and practicing multilateralism. In his keynote speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China’s
“four unswerving commitments” to its cooperation with Africa at the present stage, namely, remaining committed to fighting COVID-19 together, enhancing China-Africa cooperation, upholding multilateralism and taking China-Africa friendship forward. The Joint Statement of the Summit has underscored the impact of the COVID-19 on African economies, urged for an early lifting of economic sanctions on Zimbabwe and Sudan by the West and supported the development of the African Continental Free Trade Area. In view of the cooperation between major countries and Africa since the COVID-19 outbreak, China has played a leading role in providing assistance and supporting Africa in its fight against the pandemic and has been by far the only country that initiated an extraordinary summit on solidarity against COVID-19 with Africa.
Problems and Challenges Facing China and Africa in the Joint Fight against the COVID-19
Adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy has suffered painful recession and the global industrial chains, value chains, supply chains and international trade were ravaged. As a chain in globalization, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has also been disrupted by the pandemic. Moreover, as some western politicians and media resorted to virus and the pandemic to shape negative public opinions that “stigmatize” China and sowed discord between China and African countries, China and Africa’s joint fight against the COVID-19 pandemic encounters increasingly tough challenges in terms of public opinions.
For one thing, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and challenged ChinaAfrica economic and trade cooperation and the economic growth of the African continent. The China-Africa bilateral trade has experienced steady growth since the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000, from US$ 10.8 billion in 2000 to US$ 208.7 billion in 2019. In 2019, four top African economies, including South Africa,
Angola, Nigeria and Egypt, saw their import and export volume with China exceed US$ 10 billion. However, as they were hit heavily by the pandemic, these countries immediately adopted such prevention measures such as lockdown, flight suspension and curfew. The pandemic has impeded the business flow, logistics, capital flow and service flow between China and Africa and somehow hit bilateral trade and investment as well as project contracting. According to the data released by the General Administration of Customs of China, the first quarter of 2020 has witnessed a drop of around US$ 41 billion in ChinaAfrica trade volume, by 14%. Some “Belt and Road” infrastructure projects in Africa have slowed down the construction pace and met more challenges as a result of the pandemic.
The pandemic’s impact on ChinaAfrica economic and trade cooperation is an epitome of the shockwave it sent to the world economy. The economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa could hardly stay immune to the generally shrinking world economy, especially when the pandemic hit the African economy through supply chains, demand chains and trade chains. As the pandemic spreads across the world, it shutdowns factories and upends work. Global demand for raw materials and energies dwindles and can hardly recover within a short period of time. In the meantime, as African countries have locked down cities and shutdown factories as epidemic prevention and control measures, both the “demand” and “supply” sides of the global supply chain shrink synchronously and African countries that are endowed with mineral resources suffer from direct negative impacts. As the report entitled “COVID-19 in Africa: Protecting Lives and Economies” by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on April 17th, 2020 suggest, as a result of the pandemic, Africa’s economic growth may fall from the previously expected 3.2% to 1.8% in 2020 and the pandemic has the potential to push 27 million people into extreme poverty. Such major African economies as South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt and Angola may face fiscal risks due to domestic pandemic situation and plummeting commodity prices. The crashing of international oil prices may lead to a US$ 65 billion loss to revenues of Africa’s fuel-oriented economies. Besides, As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread worldwide, it has taken tolls on African economies as a result of tourism standstill, reduced foreign direct investment and capital outflow.
For another, since the COVID-19 outbreak, China-Africa cooperation has been trapped in increasingly complex and challenging public opinion environment. Some western countries including the United States hyped up such rhetoric as the so-called “Wuhan Virus”, “China covering up the pandemic” and “China should apologize and compensate” to “stigmatize” China. By doing so, they have not only poisoned the overall international public opinion environment surrounding China, but also deceived and misled local media and public in Africa. As a matter of fact, American media and politicians are always the sources of the voices that sow discord and smear China-Africa cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Such American media as the Wall Street Journal and the CNN use their strength in communication to maliciously spread rhetoric that smears China and fabricate the false narrative of “xenophobia rising in China” and “Africans facing more hostility in China”. The spokesperson of the U.S. State Department also rode the wave to pressure China with the pandemic and individual cases while turning a totally blind eye to the tragedy of racial discrimination where a black man was kneeled on to death by a white policeman on the U.S. soil.
Speeding up the Building of a Closer China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in the Post COVID-19 Era
To foster a favorable international environment in the post COVID-19 international landscape, China needs to
attach enormous importance to the fundamental role of its relations with other developing countries, especially African countries, in its diplomacy. China needs to timely respond to the concerns of African countries, strongly rebuke the U.S. and other western countries’ narratives that smear and sow discord in ChinaAfrica relations and focus on the following aspects to advance and strengthen China-Africa relations.
Firstly, to enhance China-Africa health cooperation and jointly build a China-Africa community of health. China and Africa have made a 57-year journey of health cooperation since January 1963 when a Chinese medical team set foot on the African continent. Medical teams have ever since become a shining mark of China’s assistance to Africa. Over the past five decades,
Chinese medical teams to Africa have grown in scale. A total number of over 20,000 medical staff from all over China have been stationed in more than 50 African countries, where they have treated hundreds of millions of patients, trained tens of thousands of medical technicians and have been widely commended by the governments of host countries and respected and loved by the local people. After the outbreak of Ebola in Africa in 2014, China took active actions to boost the development of public health in Africa. Such actions include helping build the headquarter of Africa disease control center, helping set up the only Level P3 Bio-Safety Laboratory (P3 Lab) in Sierra Leone, helping African countries optimize and upgrade relevant medical and health facilities, establishing a number of China-Africa friendship hospitals, continuing to send Chinese medical teams to Africa and training African specialist physicians.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic further indicates China-Africa health cooperation is crucial and urgent and should be prioritized. China needs to beef up investment in public health in Africa and place health cooperation in a more preeminent position in bilateral cooperation across the board. In concrete practices, China-Africa health cooperation could be comprehensively upgraded through the construction of African public health system, the building of public health software and hardware infrastructure, personnel training and experience sharing.
Secondly, to strengthen China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and jointly strive for economic recovery
and growth in the post- COVID-19 era. The past nearly two decades have witnessed a high degree of positive correlation between the economic growth of China and Africa, meaning that the two sides provide momentum for each other’s development. The high level of complementarity in economic structure, where China’s technologies, capital and experience match with Africa’s market, resources and growth potential, will not change as a result of the pandemic. Therefore, as supply chains and production chains restore in the post-COVID-19 era, ChinaAfrica economic and trade cooperation is expected to get back on the right track soon. In fact, even during the pandemic, Chinese and African business communities attempted to create new business opportunities through new forms of business. For example, the 127th China Import and Export Fair (“Canton Fair”), which opened on June 15th, adopted the format of “online fair” for the first time ever. Exhibitors and buyers from Africa and other parts of the world stayed at home to discuss business and sign contracts through such new formats as online display, promotion, matching supply and procurement needs and negotiation. This session of “online Canton Fair” also indicates China-Africa trade is to usher in a new era featuring “Internet plus Digital Economy plus Canton Fair”.
Therefore, seizing the opportunity brought by the pandemic to promote new business models and supporting the integration of the African continent and “new infrastructure” should be the essence of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era. In this regard, President Xi Jinping pointed out at the Extraordinary ChinaAfrica Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19, “China supports Africa in its effort to develop the African Continental Free Trade Area and to enhance connectivity and strengthen industrial and supply chains. China will explore broader cooperation with Africa in such new business forms as digital economy, smart city, clean energy, and 5G to boost Africa’s development and revitalization.” The Joint Statement of the Extraordinary Summit also stressed that China and Africa recognize the importance of digitalization in the postCOVID-19 era and support the efforts to speed up the development of Africa’s digital economy and expand exchanges and cooperation on digitalization, information and communication technologies, especially tele-medicine, teleeducation, 5G and big data.
Thirdly, to intensify China-Africa media cooperation and civil society exchanges to shape public opinions that are favorable to China-Africa friendly cooperation. The priority is to seize the opportunity to speak first. When major events concerning China-Africa relations unfold, the two sides must serve as the authoritative source of press release by taking the initiative to make voices at the earliest possible time and on multiple occasions. To promote China-Africa media exchanges, not only such traditional African media as governmentrun newspapers and TV broadcasters should be invited, but also we-media and social media with enormous local influence should be selected and invited to China so that the founders or famous bloggers of these new media can come to China for exchanges with their counterparts. By doing so, a broader base can be formed by those supporting China-Africa friendship. In the meantime, we should also discover and cultivate Chinese and African we-media and social media so that they could play to their strength to rebuke malicious rumors and negative rhetoric of all kinds through their social media accounts.
Fourthly, to enhance comprehensive China-Africa cooperation in international affairs in the post-COVID-19 era. Impacted by the pandemic, the tendency of “selfcentrism” and “the law of the jungle” in international relations is rising. Isolationism, bullyism and unilateralism are constantly eroding the international system with the UN as the core and the values of multilateralism. Therefore, it is of profound significance for China and Africa to strengthen international cooperation and firmly support the undertakings and authority of the UN and the WHO in international affairs and world public health.
China and Africa standing in solidarity against the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening international cooperation don’t aim to form an exclusive clique, but take an open and inclusive gesture towards international cooperation. The Joint Statement of the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 explicitly pointed out that China and Africa support efforts to explore with global partners trilateral or multilateral cooperation in Africa in a way that is active, open and inclusive and based on respect for African countries’ wishes, with a view to facilitating an early victory against COVID-19 and faster development in Africa.
To foster a favorable international environment in the post COVID-19 international landscape, China needs to attach enormous importance to the fundamental role of its relations with other developing countries, especially African countries, in its diplomacy.