Editor's note:
The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is held in Beijing from September 4 to 6. Under this particular cooperation framework, China and African countries are expected to deepen exchanges in multiple major areas. In light of this special occasion, GDToday is conducting exclusive interviews with African delegates, shedding light on China-Africa relations, now and in the future.
In the view of Heribert-Label Elisee Adjovi, Governor of the Beninese Magazine "Le Label Diplomatique" from Benin, FOCAC has truly revolutionized China-African relations, in that its advent has engaged China-African cooperation in consultations on an equal footing, deepened mutual understanding, broadened consensus, strengthened friendship and promoted cooperation.
"As far as history is concerned, China-African relations go back a long way, to the voyage of discovery by Admiral Zheng He to the Swahili coast in 1418. These relations began to evolve in the second half of the twentieth century, with the 1955 Bandung Conference, which produced a memorable Declaration that paved the way for Africa's "Sun of Independence" in the early 1960s" Adjovi told GDToday China and African had shared long standing friendship over the course of time.
From the first meeting of China-African economic leaders held on August 3 1998, to the FOCAC officially created following the Year 200 Ministerial Conference held in Beijing from October 10 to 12, 2000, the two sides have worked to further strengthen friendly cooperation between China and African countries in a new context, to jointly meet the challenges of economic globalization and to work towards common development.
"These forums have contributed massively to establishing, beyond the China-Africa of States, a China-Africa of People, for a better understanding between Chinese and African civilization." Adjovi noted.
China supports African countries in search for an autonomous development path adapted to their national realities
From 2021 to 2023, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, respectively at the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Boao Forum for Asia and the High-Level Dialogue between the Chinese Communist Party and the world's political parties, further enriching, developing and improving the concept of a community of destiny for mankind.
"In this noble ambition to reshape global institutions and norms, China has a major ally: Africa." Adjovi thinks taking into account the history, background and characteristics of the two sides, and taking into account China's long-term goals for 2035, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the development strategies of African countries, it is only natural for China and Africa to have drawn up the 2035 vision of China-Africa cooperation, established the direction and objectives of medium- and long-term cooperation, and promoted the construction of a closer China-Africa community of destiny.
"I think FOCAC has majorly contributed to improving the participation of African countries in global governance." said Adjovi. With platforms like FOCAC, he highlights the role of China - supporting African countries in their search for an autonomous development path adapted to their national realities and strengthening their governance capacities, and in building a prosperous, open and inclusive society to ensure lasting stability.
At the end of July, according to Adjovi, China and 26 African countries jointly published an Action Plan in Beijing designed to accelerate their digital cooperation, an initiative will strengthen partnerships in digital policy, infrastructure, innovation, digital transformation, security and the training of at least 1,000 professionals over the next three years.
Over the past two years, China has signed Digital Cooperation Agreements with many African governments, which have improved connectivity between Africa and key regions in Europe, Asia and the Americas through the deployment of several submarine cables by companies covering more than 60,000 kilometers. These companies have played a key role in setting up high-speed fibre optic networks, 4G/5G mobile communications systems and satellite services.
"To speak of FOCAC's contribution to greater participation by African countries in global governance is to recall China's support for the recent integration of Ethiopia and Egypt into the BRICS bloc, the African Union's integration into the G20, and China's support for Africa's permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council." he said.
Clearly, Africa, the "Cradle of Humankind", can count on China in its stated desire to no longer serve as a sounding board for the hegemonic ambitions of the great powers, and to exert an influence on global decision-making processes, in line with its Agenda 2063, as concluded by Adjovi.
China and Benin enjoys one of the most promising relations on the African continent
Cooperation between China and Benin is one of the oldest and most promising on the African continent. The resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Benin dates back to December 29, 1972, and Benin has always benefited from most of the measures taken by China to help African countries within the framework of FOCAC.
"China and Benin have agreed to cooperate in areas such as economy, health, digital technology, customs, training and communications." Adjovi told GDToday, who thinks the summit will certainly be an opportunity to take stock of the implementation of the Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024), which proposes a comprehensive plan for trade promotion and facilitation, strategic market access and product enhancement. At the time, China pledged to import $300 billion worth of goods from Africa between 2022 and 2024. It also offered $10 billion to improve the quality of African exports and a $10 billion credit line to help small and medium-sized enterprises export high-quality products to Chinese markets.
"It is no secret that Africa faces many challenges, such as regional stabilization, promoting peace, improving education and food security, and so on." Adjovi said, "But it can also count on its mineral resources (including 54% of the world's platinum resources, 78% of diamonds, 40% of chromium and 28% of manganese), its population, which is the youngest in the world, with an increasingly high intellectual level (around 77% of the 1.4 billion inhabitants, over 400 million of whom are aged between 15 and 35)."
"Chinese-style modernization is an experience that Africa must draw on to build African-style modernization." Adjovi mentioned that in terms of prospects, by 2035, the annual volume of trade between China and Africa will reach 300 billion dollars. For the same period and in the field of bilateral investment, China will invest 60 billion dollars in Africa, focusing on support for agriculture, manufacturing industry, infrastructure, environmental protection, the digital economy, the blue economy, and so on,
He thinks that would go a long way in supporting China's strong economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa to become demonstration zones of China-African industrial cooperation and supply chain, and helping Africa to continuously optimize the business environment, thus improving the level of location of Chinese enterprises in Africa.
Chinese diplomacy proven effective in thawing the oil crisis between Benin and Niger
As of one of the most concerned issue, the oil crisis between Benin and Niger, Adjovi thinks to this date that was one of the most regrettable decisions taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which both countries are members.
"Benin's borders with Niger were closed, and there was an economic blockade. In retaliation, Niger accused Benin of harboring foreign military bases, notably French, on its soil. This diplomatic crisis, with its socioeconomic repercussions, led to the blockade of Sèmè-Kpodji for weeks in mid-May 2024." Adjovi added that Benin refused to execute the tripartite contract linking it to Niger and China, through the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the company operating the pipeline linking Cotonou and Niamey.
The Niger-Benin pipeline project is designed to transport crude oil from the Agadem oilfield in eastern Niger to the deep-water port of Sèmè-Kpodji in southern Benin, a distance of almost 2,000 km. After four months of crisis, the economic losses for the parties were enormous.
As for China, the blockade is delaying the return on its investment of over 6 billion dollars in the project. To this amount must be added an advance on oil revenues of $400 million, which Niger has undertaken to repay in one year, with an interest rate of 7%.
Against this backdrop of a blockade, China used all its consultation measures to mediate and unblock the first export of black gold from the deep-water port of Sèmè-Kpodji. It used the same diplomacy to release, three months later, on August 20, 2024, one million barrels of Nigerian crude oil stored at the Beninese port of Sèmè-Kpodji and bound for Beijing.
"Although Niger has still not given the go-ahead either for the resumption of production at Agadem or for the reopening of its borders with Benin," he explained, "the success of this second export, following that recorded following the blockade of Sèmè-Kpodji which lasted several weeks in May, is proof that Chinese diplomacy has proved its effectiveness in thawing the oil crisis between Benin and Niger."
"The Chinese mediators were able to convince the Beninese and Nigerian parties of the need not to allow a conflict at the top of the two States to penalize the people at the bottom." he detailed, "Both parties agreed to the thawing of the crisis, because the Chinese partner has repeatedly demonstrated its good faith and loyalty to the black continent."
More generally, he believes it gives a strong signal that the Chinese recipe for a community of shared destiny for humanity is the new path of global governance capable of building an international society of security and peace.
Africa can draw on the experience of Guangdong to modernize its industry
In March 2024, Adjovi attended a press conference organized by the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, from which he learned about focused on Guangdong province's place in the new era of openness and reform in China.
With a GDP of 13570 billion yuan in 2023 (an increase of 4.8% on the previous year), Guangdong province stands in the limelight, as it is the first province to exceed 13,000 billion yuan and has held first place in China for thirty-five consecutive years.
"I would also like to pay tribute to Guangdong Province's valuable contribution to Sino-African cooperation, particularly in the field of trade." Adjovi salutes the economic performance of Guangdong, which has been able to take advantage of the policy of opening up and reform as well as its three special economic zones (Shenzhen, Shantou and Zhuhai) to become one of the richest provinces in China.
"Africa is Guangdong's main trading partner, with total imports and exports exceeding 270 billion yuan in 2023, representing growth of 3.9%. Africa has much to gain from Guangdong," he detailed, "because its dense manufacturing fabric and the increasingly innovative nature of its hi-tech and financial sectors are assets from which African businesses are already benefiting and could benefit even more in the new era of Chinese-style modernization."
He thinks Africa can draw on the experience of Guangdong province to modernize its industry.
Reporter | Jersey, Lydia, Xie Chunhong (intern), Yang Lin (intern)
Editor | Steven, Will, James
Graphic design | Mia