Editorial | Relationship between China, Africa pays off after years of effort
As Beijing hosts summit of nations from continent it is reaping rewards of historic close ties based on mutual respect in uncertain world
The summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is the formal name for a gathering in Beijing from today until Friday. It does not really do justice to a meeting between leaders of the world’s biggest developing country and up to 50 counterparts from the continent with the most developing countries. If any more evidence were needed of the importance both sides attach to their bilateral and multilateral relationships it is to be found in a flurry of separate meetings that President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held with many African leaders in the days before the summit began.
China-Africa forum summits and ministerial conferences predate Xi’s term of office by more than a decade. Many people once brushed aside the attachment of such importance to African countries as a waste of resources. But over the years, through good times and bad, China’s commitment to the continent, marked by a consistent pattern of investment, has not wavered.
As a result, in return, it is also benefiting from the relationship. Despite reports of disunity and political turmoil, Africa remains a young economy with abundant resources and a respectable growth rate. Contrary to the Western media portrayal of the connection with China as a new round of colonialism, loans from multilateral institutions also account for the continent’s debt and African leaders can choose investments that are in the national interest.
In return for Chinese financing, technology and infrastructure, Africa has provided markets for China, including for hi-tech products as it moves up the manufacturing chain. The continent is also a source of energy, food and raw materials, making it a critical link in the Belt and Road Initiative. China is reaping the rewards of historic close ties with Africa based on mutual respect.
Without the years of effort to build the Africa connection, China may now be more easily isolated rather than being able to withstand containment policies by the United States. Now, with China facing its own economic difficulties, many people question whether it will quietly scale back cooperation with Africa.
But contrary to these doubts, Chinese loans to Africa are back to a pre-pandemic volume notwithstanding a new approach to risk. And there will be more deals signed this week, particularly on food and energy security.
