Asian, African leaders call for new global order

The spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation lived on 60 years after the Bandung Conference as Asian and African leaders called on April 22 and 23 for a new global order in a world that has undergone six decades of dramatic change.

During a two-day summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, dozens of African and Asian leaders put forward their proposals to boost cooperation between developing countries - often referred to as South-South cooperation by policymakers and academics - and narrow the gap between developing countries and developed ones.

Observers says the meeting underscored the two continents' shared goal of realizing development and a more equal global order, and mapping out a blueprint to address challenges that may arise in the process of achieving those goals.

Countries on the two continents should align their development strategies into a driving force for common growth, President Xi Jinping said at the start of the meeting on April 22.

South-North cooperation should be based on mutual respect and equality, said Xi, who also stressed that developed countries have a binding obligation to help narrow the gap with developing countries.

Xi urged developed countries to fulfill their commitments of aid to and increase support for developing countries with no political strings attached.

In 1955, delegates from 29 Asian and African countries gathered for the first large-scale Asian-African conference in Indonesia's historical city of Bandung to lay out a path of development and unite in the struggle against colonialism.

At the time, the 29 countries accounted for less than a quarter of the world's economic output, but today they account for more than half to the global GDP. Many of the countries that attended in 1955, such as China and India, are now seated at key international forums such as the G20.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said those who still insist that global economic problems can only be solved through the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank are clinging to "obsolete ideas".

"There needs to be change," he said in his opening speech. "It's imperative that we build a new international economic order that is open to new emerging economic powers."

Since 2010, the IMF has been slow to implement a package of reforms on quotas and governance that aims to double its financial resources and increase the voting power of emerging economies in the organization.

Widodo said the world needed a collective global leadership that is exercised in a just and responsible manner.

He Wenping, director of the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Asia and Africa have yet to unite to create greater clout amid a recovering global economy. More efforts are needed to tackle recent problems such as an imbalance in development and competition, said He, who added that China's One Belt, One Road initiatives and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will play important roles.

Denise Kodhe, director-general of the Institute for Democracy and Leadership in Africa, said Africa has a lot to learn from many Asian countries.

"I think the focus of Africa development should not be only infrastructure. Africa also needs to learn a lot about reform, political studies and leadership from Asia," Kodhe said.

Isaac Kwaku Fokun, founder of the Sino Africa Center of Excellence Foundation, said "it's great that countries like China have come to build airports or so. But what is missing is a conversation. ... They don't know each other. They come to do a job and then they leave".

Series of bilateral meetings was held on the sidelines of the summit, with leaders and officials holding discussions to implement cooperation between developing countries.

The leaders were scheduled to travel to Bandung in West Java on April 24 for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference.

The flurry of activities in Indonesia is expected to yield three documents: the Bandung Message, the Declaration of Reinvigorating New Asia-Africa Strategic Partnership, and the Declaration on Palestine.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said countries need to fully implement cooperative projects to take advantage of the vitality in the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership.

Patrick Maluki, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi's school of diplomacy, said the spirit of the Bandung Conference will further cooperation between Asia and Africa.

Mo Jingxi in Beijing and Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers through wujiao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/24/2015 page2)