FOCAC Beijing summit opens new chapter in Sino-African cooperation, experts say

BEIJING, Sept. 5 — The 2018 Beijing summit of the Forum on
China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) which kicked off on Monday has opened a
new chapter in Sino-African cooperation, experts in Africa have said.

“China-Africa cooperation is a win-win not just for China, but for the
world,” Charles Onunaiju, director of the Center for China Studies in
Abuja, Nigeria said in an interview with Xinhua. Onunaiju said the
prospects of this year’s FOCAC are given greater value by the Belt and Road
Initiative, “which is very important for Africa.” China offers the best
option and a win-win situation for the African continent, said Yusuf Dodia,
chairperson of the Private Sector Development Association in Zambia.”It is
evident that China has become the best trading partner for the continent
which must be embraced with both hands,” said Dodia.

The FOCAC is now emerging as an action-oriented forum and not a mere
diplomatic and political forum and is strengthening Sino-African economic
and development relations, said Gerrishon Ikiara, a senior lecturer on
economics at the University of Nairobi. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s
speech at the opening ceremony of the FOCAC summit is receiving widespread
attention in Africa and worldwide, said Ikiara. Xi’s announcement that
China will support African countries in joining the Belt and Road
Initiative is highly significant for Africa’s infrastructural development
in the coming decade, and will help Africa open up to the rest of the
world, Ikiara added.

BEIJING, Sept. 5, 2018 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Once again, China has reiterated its commitment to win-win cooperation with
Africa, and China is showing itself to be a genuine partner in the
development of African countries, said Stephen Ndegwa, a public policy
lecturer at the United States International University Africa based in
Kenya. The “five-no” approach in relations with Africa announced by Xi in
his speech at the FOCAC Beijing summit showed that China has chosen to let
African countries chart their own course towards an African continent with
its own social, economic and political identity, said Ndegwa. Africa’s
infrastructure development plans will be heavily boosted by the
China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, said Dietrich Remmert, an analyst
at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in Namibia.

The initiative, which aims to link different countries through modern
railways, harbors and roads, will bring significant economic benefits to
African countries, Remmert said. The initiative promotes green
development, which is much needed in Africa’s development, he added. The
Foreign Ministry of Libya’s United Nations-backed government said the FOCAC
Beijing summit provides a great opportunity to enhance bilateral
cooperation, relations and comprehensive strategic partnership between
Libya and China. – XINHUA