The Ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), now underway in Beijing over Sept. 4-6 under the banner of “Joining Hands To Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future,” is an extraordinary gathering of almost all of Africa’s 54 heads of state (minus Eswatini, which maintains ties with Taiwan), the top levels of China’s leadership, starting with President Xi Jinping, as well as institutional guests from Africa, China, the UN, and elsewhere.
FOCAC, which was founded in October 2000, meets every three years. President Xi will give the keynote address to the summit on Sept. 5, but in the meantime has held an unprecedented number of upbeat bilateral meetings with visiting heads of state and government for in-depth discussion on joint development plans and infrastructure and investment projects to assist in those nations’ modernization. Cooperation in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was a key point of emphasis in all these discussions.
Today, China’s semiofficial Global Times quoted analysts who emphasized that “closer China-Africa ties are conducive for the entire Global South, with more voices to safeguard interests, strive for more development opportunities and pool more strengths to promote fairness in the global governance.” They pointed to China’s support for nations’ choice of their own independent development model, free from colonialist or racist pressures. Lawfully, the Belt and Road Initiative, and China’s three Initiatives (Global Development, Global Security and Global Civilization) enjoy significant support among African nations.
Of the many specific agreements signed was one between Nigeria and China to develop Nigeria’s nuclear energy industry (see separate report.) During Xi’s meetings with the leaders of Malawi, Chad and Mauritania, it was agreed to elevate their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership and China and Nigeria upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Global Times reported that Xi and Kenyan President William Ruto have successfully implemented major infrastructure cooperation projects, such as the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Ruto told Xi he welcomes further Chinese investment and expanded bilateral cooperation in several fields, especially in connectivity, new forms of energy, and youth development.
