Advancing China–Africa Cooperation in the New Era: Achievements and Challenges

Abstract

China–Africa cooperation in recent years has been marked by two distinct trends, localization and internationalization, which have allowed a variety of actors and stakeholders to be part of Africa’s development story. But even as African development takes on more nongovernmental and multilateral characteristics, inadequate social participation and lack of coordination between major donor countries still pose significant challenges that must be addressed before localization and internationalization can help further boost aid effectiveness on the continent. The Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as the premium platform for China–Africa cooperation holds great promise for advancing Africa’s economic, social, and human development, on the one hand, and forging closer multilateral coordination, on the other. In addition, a more complex geopolitical landscape has also underscored the forum’s strategic and practical value for top Chinese policymakers and their African counterparts, as both seek more predictable and productive relations to meet an increasing number of common challenges and are making new efforts to build a more open and inclusive FOCAC in order to advance the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and fulfill Beijing’s commitment to multilateralism and international cooperation.