Continent finds right partner for growth, experts say

Editor's Note: With the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation opening on Monday in Dakar, Senegal, this page looks at the issues expected to be discussed while highlighting the successes of past meetings and the broader efforts to strengthen ties between the two sides.

The meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will provide good opportunities for the two sides to cement their relationship for mutual benefits, and experts from South Africa said many African nations expect fruitful results.

A wide range of topics will be discussed during the eighth ministerial meeting of the forum to be held in the Senegalese capital Dakar at the end of the month, including cooperation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, bilateral trade, climate change and the digital economy.

Alan Mukoki, CEO of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said African countries expect to address the challenges they face at the FOCAC meeting, including low economic growth, poverty, unemployment and climate change.

Mukoki said Africa did the right thing by choosing China as its partner because of its "impressive record" in its economic growth, technology and record of lifting more than 800 million people out of poverty.

"Having a partnership with China is very important." South Africa and Africa know the issues they face in their discussion with China and the experiences they can learn, he said. "It's up to us as Africans to take up the opportunities that arise from FOCAC."

Technology transfer

African representatives to the meeting may discuss cooperation with China in areas such as technology and skills transfer, talent training and infrastructural development to support African economic growth.

Mukoki also urged Africans to seize the opportunities presented at the FOCAC and learn good experiences from China that are applicable to the African environment.

David Monyae, director of the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, said Africa-China relations have made enormous achievements over the past 21 years since the founding of FOCAC, with promising progress expected in the future under the platform.

He said that Sino-African trade increased from $10 billion in 2000 when the forum was born to $208 billion in 2019. China has also become a major source of development finance for African countries, providing a $150 billion in credit lines between 2005 and 2020.

"China has become the largest bilateral source of infrastructure investment in Africa," Monyae said. "Besides economics, people-to-people relations have improved immensely. China is now the second-biggest host of African overseas university students with over 80,000 Africans getting an education in China. Relations between Africa and China have vastly improved and a lot has been achieved under the auspices of FOCAC."

Looking to the future, Monyae said Africa and China can intensify cooperation in areas such as fighting the pandemic, vaccine access, health infrastructure investment, digital technology, fighting terrorism and climate change.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.