Chinese President Xi Jinping made his visit to the Middle East and Africa last month, the tour of which included four African countries—Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa and Mauritius. This is his first visit to the region since he was re-elected as Chinese president in March this year. It shows the high premium that Xi places on China-Africa relations and his strategic vision.

China and Africa have always been a community of shared future. The path of cooperation between the two is distinguished from that of other countries with Africa. It is advancing and evolving in a way that benefits both. Historically, China supported Africa’s justified anti-colonization and anti-imperialism movement and its struggle for national independence and liberation. Africa supported the restoration of China’s rightful permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Today, China supports Africa’s independent and sustainable development and the continent’s greater role in international affairs. Africa also supports China’s development, prosperity and the country’s cause of national reunification.

Led by President Xi, China-Africa relations have kept pace with the times. China is committed to helping Africa break the three major development bottlenecks of inadequate infrastructure, finance and talent. China also actively shares its experience in national governance.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Tanzania, to be constructed with assistance from China, was held on July 16 in the coastal Kibaha Region. Co-founded by the six sisterly parties—the Revolutionary Party of Tanzania, the African National Congress of South Africa, the Mozambique Liberation Front Party, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, the SWAPO Party of Namibia and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front—the school aims to improve the governing capacity of African countries’ ruling parties, to cultivate cadres and to help the continent realize true independence.

In his congratulatory letter to the ceremony, Xi said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is willing to take this opportunity to enhance exchanges with political parties in Africa, including the six co-founding parties, and to learn from each other, so as to jointly promote the construction of a closer community with a shared future for China and Africa and to advance the lofty cause of peace and development for mankind.

China-Africa cooperation has been tangible over the years with remarkable achievements. China is gradually helping change the face of the African continent in infrastructure sectors such as transportation, electricity and energy, laying a solid foundation for the continent’s sustainable development.

Railway projects such as Kenya’s Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, and Nigeria’s Abuja-Kaduna Railway, along with projects such as Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa-Adama Expressway and Uganda’s highway that connects the capital Kampala to Entebbe International Airport, exemplify China-Africa cooperation in recent years. In many African cities, China is actively involved in urban construction.

The cooperation between the two is also altering African people’s ideas, development concepts and perceptions of the world in a positive way. One of the largest sources of investment and financing in Africa, China spares no effort in improving the economy and social infrastructure and continuously transferring technology. According to incomplete data, by 2017 China had constructed at least 6,200 kilometers of railways and 6,500 kilometers of roads and built 20 ports, 20 bridges, 80 power stations, 200 schools and 80 gymnasiums in Africa.

China is Senegal’s second largest trading partner, biggest peanut importer and biggest financing source. China has financed the country’s transportation infrastructure projects such as the Fongoni Bridge and the Jay-Tuba Expressway. It will help build 251 wells and 1,800 kilometers of pipelines to solve the water security problem facing one seventh of the Serbian population. The National Grand Theater, the Museum of Black Civilization and the Wrestling Stadium, all built with the assistance of China, have made important contributions to the inheritance and development of Senegalese culture. In Rwanda, China has become the country’s largest trading partner and engineering contractor. China has built 70 percent of the total national highway mileage for Rwanda and is implementing a digital TV program “Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages” in the country. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 20 years ago, China and South Africa have become a model of China-Africa relations, South-South cooperation and solidarity and cooperation among emerging markets. China has been South Africa’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years, while South Africa is China’s largest trading partner in Africa.

President Xi’s trip to Africa resonates with the upcoming Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, to be held in September this year, facilitating more effective, practical measures to result from the summit. Strengthening the bilateral relations at a new historical starting point, the visit further bolsters the China-Africa community of shared future.

 

This article was edited and translated from Guangming Daily. Zeng Aiping is the deputy director of the Department for Developing Countries Studies at China Institute of International Studies.

(edited by BAI LE)