What to expect at upcoming China-Africa cooperation summit?

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from Sept. 4 to 6. The leaders of China and African countries will gather around the theme "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future" to celebrate friendship and chart the way forward for cooperation.

This marks another grand reunion of the China-Africa big family following the 2006 Beijing summit, the 2015 Johannesburg summit, and the 2018 Beijing summit of the FOCAC. It is also the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.

DRAWING NEW BLUEPRINT

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the 2024 summit on Sept. 5 and deliver a keynote speech, according to foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

In his speech, Xi will elaborate on the new ideas and propositions on building a high-level community with a shared future between China and Africa, and announce new actions and measures for practical cooperation with Africa, said Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong.

Xi will also host a welcoming banquet and relevant bilateral events for the leaders of FOCAC's African members and representatives of relevant African regional organizations and international organizations.

Chen noted that Xi had visited Africa five times as the Chinese president, attended two FOCAC summits, and chaired the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 and the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue. He has also summarized the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation and in person charted the course for the development of China-Africa relations in the new era.

"Under the guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, China-Africa relations have entered a new phase of building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. The building of a China-Africa community with a shared future continues to be at the forefront of building a community with a shared future for mankind," Chen added.

Leaders of African countries and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission will lead delegations to participate in the Summit. The UN Secretary-General will be a special guest and relevant international and regional organizations will also attend the Summit as observers.

Experts say this not only reflects the sincere welcome that African countries and their people have extended to China's assistance in promoting Africa's economic and social development and improving livelihoods over the years, but also highlights the strong appeal of Chinese modernization to Global South countries, including the vast majority of African nations.

The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made strategic plans for further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, which will bring more opportunities and hopes to other countries in the world, Chen said.

Over the 24 years since the establishment of the FOCAC, particularly in the new era, the forum has always adhered to the principles of planning together, building together, and benefiting together. The development of the Forum has been remarkable, making it a "golden brand" of China-Africa cooperation and a banner for leading international cooperation with Africa and for deepening Global South cooperation, Chen said.

The fruitful and all-round cooperation between China and Africa under the FOCAC framework has continued to enhance the influence of the forum, said Sun Hong, a researcher from the Institute of African Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, adding that the upcoming summit holds great practical importance and far-reaching significance.

FOUR HIGH-LEVEL MEETINGS

According to Chen, this year's summit will have four high-level meetings on the topics of state governance, industrialization and agricultural modernization, peace and security, and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

African countries are increasingly focused on choosing their own development paths and expressing their perspectives on pressing international issues. In this process, they have demonstrated a strong interest in China's governance experience and initiatives in global affairs, Sun said.

Through high-level meetings with specific topics, all parties can exchange in-depth views on important issues in China-Africa cooperation, further discuss real concerns, and build consensus on development, she added.

Shen Xiang, director of the West Asia and Africa Department under the Ministry of Commerce, said that a conference of Chinese and African entrepreneurs will also be held during the summit, featuring two discussion topics on industrial and supply chain cooperation and the development of emerging industries.

The discussions will enable the sharing of successful experience in cooperation between Chinese and African entrepreneurs under the guidance of the forum's initiatives, with a view to exploring new cooperation opportunities, he said.

TWO OUTCOME DOCUMENTS

The summit will adopt two outcome documents -- the Declaration and the Action Plan -- to build major consensus between the two sides and chart a path for implementing high-quality China-Africa cooperation in the next three years, according to Chen.

During the 8th Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC held in Senegal in November 2021, China pledged to jointly roll out nine programs with African countries, and upgrade China-Africa cooperation in various fields including medical and health care, improvement of people's livelihood, green development, digital economy and capacity building.

Liu Junfeng, deputy head of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, recently said that tasks related to Chinese aid and development cooperation under the nine programs have all been completed over the past three years, with tangible results.

In the past three years, practical cooperation between China and Africa has continuously deepened, and political mutual trust has been constantly enhanced. Given the new international situation and the development level of various countries, all parties expect this summit to propose a new comprehensive action plan based on the evaluation of the implementation of the outcomes of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC, said Liu Jisen from the Institute for African Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

China is ready to seize this important opportunity together with Africa to embark on a new journey toward modernization, further elevate the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future, and continue writing a new chapter in the mutual understanding, affinity and friendship between the peoples of China and Africa, Chen said.

Together, the two sides will send a powerful message of Africa and China taking part in and leading the reform of the global governance system, so as to gather strong momentum for advancing world modernization, he added.