RONG YANSONG,Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The Johannesburg Summit of FOCAC was just held successfully from December 3 to 5 with the theme “China- Africa Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development”.
The most prominent characteristics of China-Africa cooperation under the frame of FOCAC is practicability. Since the FOCAC was established in 2000, the economic and trade cooperation between China and African countries has made remarkable achievements. A series of significant economic and trade measures have been formulated and implemented to strengthen and deepen practical cooperation between the two sides at each conference. 

From 2000 to the Fifth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC, China has implemented 35 economic and trade initiatives, provided loans amount to $35bn, and supported the construction of more than 400 projects and 20 economic trade and cooperative zones in Africa.

China also has offered Africa more than 55,000 government scholarships. China has also provided financing support for many projects with a view to bridging the funding gaps in Africa’s development. For instance, China built Africa’s first modern railroad in Nigeria and Africa’s first modern urban light rail in Ethiopia. China has also confronted the Ebola epidemic together with African friends and constructed the Kaleta Hydropower Station in Guinea.

These economic and trade measures have played an important role in promoting Sino- African trade and economic cooperation and helping African countries develop faster and making their people live better. China has joined Africa’s effort in creating jobs, generating tax revenue and improving their own capacity to develop. In the past three years, Chinese enterprises have paid more than $2bn tax to the host nations and hired nearly 600,000 employees in Africa. The Sino-African trade and economic cooperation also had been lifted to another new stage through the active implementation of these measures. In 2013, China-Africa trade exceeded the $200bn mark for the first time. In 2014, it reached $22bn, up by 11.8% from 2012. Over the past three years, China’s cumulative direct investment flows to Africa hit a record high of nearly $10bn. Meanwhile, the cooperation has been expanding into new areas and adopting new innovations in cooperation models.

In order to push China-Africa economic and trade relationship to a new era, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced 10 new cooperation plans between China and Africa over the next three years. They include Industrialisation Plan, Agriculture Modernisation Plan, Infrastructure Plan, Financial Plan, Green Development Plan, Trade and Investment Facilitation Plan, Poverty Reduction Plan, Public Health Plan, Cultural and People- People Exchange Plan, Peace and Security Plan.

To make the 10 cooperation plans be implemented smoothly, China also announced the financial support of $60bn, which include four parts. Firstly, grant and interest-free loans amounting to $5bn, mainly to help African countries reduce poverty, improve sanitary conditions, develop agriculture and protect the environment. The main purpose is to improve the wellbeing of ordinary people.

Secondly, concessional loan and export credit with an amount of $35bn will focus on supporting major projects to improve the infrastructure in Africa.

Thirdly, $10bn will be added to the China-Africa Development Fund and the Special Loan for the Development of African SMEs with each one increasing by $5bn. It will back up China- Africa cooperation in industrialisation, investment and trade.

Fourthly, the newly established China-Africa Fund for Production Capacity Cooperation has an initial contribution of $10bn.

Compared to the economic and trade supporting plans, the new initiatives have their own characteristics: better matching the development strategic of both sides, covering broader areas and including more content of innovation, such as fighting climate change, protecting wild animals and plants, and sustainable development.

As the largest developing country and the largest developing continent, China and Africa have achieved hard-won fruits in their cooperation. The cooperation between China and Africa is expected to promote their respective economic development and benefit Chinese and African people. We have recognised that currently China-Africa cooperation met some challenges such as weak global demand, slowdown in international trade and plunging commodity prices. Although both of us have felt noticeable external pressure in our economic development and mutual commercial cooperation, in Chinese culture, there are always opportunities linking to headwinds.

The Johannesburg summit has extended valuable opportunities for China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. So long as China and Africa support each other and move forward together, we will undoubtedly overcome any difficulty, further enhance practical cooperation and create a splendid future.

(The story was originally published on Business Day on December 17th, 2015.)