Forum On China-Africa Cooperation Research Articles

China in Africa: companies as enablers and beneficiaries? An empirical evaluation of state-business relations in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

Abstract China’s strong economic presence in Africa has resulted in an increased interdisciplinary debate. Our contribution is the incorporation of a business perspective by uncovering the prominence and role of business in China’s diplomatic Africa engagement. Our theoretical contribution by applying the state-business relations (SBR) literature is to examine whether established frameworks can be expanded by an international dimension through intergovernmental initiatives like the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The paper conducts a document analysis of all declarations and Action Plans of all FOCAC conferences in the period 2000–2021, combining both a content and a thematic analysis based on an explorative and iterative coding process. Our data suggests that the prominence of businesses has increased while the scope of their activities and the number of focus sectors (especially infrastructure) has risen particularly since 2012. Companies are considered as enablers for political and economic goals in the state-driven FOCAC. We find that SBR frameworks are applicable to international contexts and propose an expanded SBR approach integrating transnational intermediary institutions like the intergovernmental FOCAC and transnational business platforms which facilitate positive state-business relations across countries and a conducive business environment.

Comparing the effectiveness of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in South Africa: An application of Keynes' Macroeconomic Theory

This study applies Keynesian macroeconomic theory in the ARDL model to compare the growth effects of the US's AGOA and China's FOCAC multilateral trading systems in South Africa from the first quarter of 2001 to the fourth quarter of 2022. The study uses South Africa's net exports with the corresponding partner as a proxy for each multilateral trading system. This quantification stems from the fact that South Africa's trade with the US and China has significantly improved since the establishment of AGOA and FOCAC in 2000. Our findings show that none of the multilateral trading systems contribute significantly to South Africa's economic growth. Rather, they appear to be used as strategic initiatives to gain access to mineral resources and facilitate the movement of mining machinery and other inputs into South Africa. To some extent, they are used as market-seeking initiatives, particularly FOCAC. It is worth noting, however, that the mineral resource preferences of these systems vary: while China prioritizes mineral products, the US prioritizes precious metals. This suggests that China and the US scramble for natural resources in South Africa, and possibly Africa in general, is complementary rather than competitive.

Assessing the Gains and Challenges of Nigeria’s Participation in The Forum On China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC)

The paper examined the benefit that Nigeria has gotten following her participation in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC) which was established in the year 2000 in Beijing, China. FOCAC is seen as an example of the South-South Co-operation attempt to realise the dreams of the Guandung Conference held in Indonesia in 1955. The paper relied on secondary data which were sourced from textbooks, journal papers, and seminar papers among others that are related to the subject matter and adopted complex interdependence theory as a framework of analysis. Findings from this work show that Nigeria's participation in the forum has greatly enhanced trade and increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as available data shows that FDI in Nigeria has increased exponentially heating 19.27 billion US dollars in the year 2019 against 1,900 times that of 1971 when the diplomatic ties were established. FOCAC has also helped in developing Nigeria's infrastructure like the construction of the Abuja- Kaduna railway line, among other benefits. However, findings also revealed that there are challenges in this relation, typical among them are the fear expressed by so many Nigerians of the likely hood of Nigeria falling into the Chinese debt trap, unbalanced trade which favors China, and security challenges confronting Nigeria like kidnapping, banditry, and terrorism among others. Based on this, the work recommends that China should use the platform of FOCAC to allay this fear of the debt trap and assist Nigeria in confronting these securities challenges. On the part of Nigeria, the paper recommends that Nigeria need to increase her export trade among other measures, as this will help her build a strong economy and have the resources to supply China's growing need, rather than demand for energy resources and other raw materials.

Macro-determinants of current account balance performance in selected African countries

AbstractMost African countries are open to international trade as shown by their signatories to various trade agreements such as the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU, and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). However, these countries face persistent current account deficits and institutional underdevelopment. The existing literature investigates the underlying factors at country-specific levels while ignoring the role of institutions. Meanwhile, African countries are also rapidly transitioning towards economic integration with the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AFCFTA) to deepen intra-Africa trade. Therefore, for unionized policy proposition, this study controls for the effects of institutions and investigates the macro-determinants of the current account balance (CAB) performance using panel data from 2002 to 2020 for 20 African countries. To account for cross-country correlation and country-level heteroscedasticity, the study employed panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) and feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) techniques for the governance indicators-related step-wise estimations. The results show that after controlling for the effects of institutions, income, trade openness, the price level, the interplay between manufacturing and financial sector development, and the money supply are the significant macro-determinants of the CAB performance in Africa. Further, the marginal info-graphics show that the predictive effects of value addition and financial development on the CAB increase positively with good governance and that improved governance could reverse any negative effects of trade openness on the CAB performance. Based on the findings, the study recommends inter alia that African countries pursue value-addition-oriented trade, zero Central Bank budgetary financing, and institutional quality improvement to enhance the performance of their CABs.

The Tax Cooperation Mechanism between China and African Countries and the Avoidance of a Double Taxation Agreement

The tax cooperation mechanism between China and African countries has a bearing on the business environment of bilateral economic and trade cooperation. At present, the tax cooperation mechanism between China and African countries has developed rapidly by way of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R), but it still faces challenges, such as an insufficiency in tax agreements, differences on the agreement content, a lack of trans-regional tax cooperation agreements and support mechanisms to promote tax cooperation and exchange. To improve the China-Africa international business environment, it is necessary to enhance the tax cooperation mechanism between China and African countries, including the speeding up and signing of tax treaties, coordinating and improving the content of the agreements, negotiating a convention of trans-regional tax cooperation, setting up a tax supporting cooperation dialogue mechanism, strengthening the construction of tax capacity and improving the tax dispute settlement mechanism.

International students’ linguistic entrepreneurship: motivation, ‘Chinese fever’ and the neoliberal burden

ABSTRACT Against the backdrop of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the number of educational migrants from the member states, particularly African international students, has dramatically increased over the past decade in China. Much of previous research on international student mobility (ISM) and its ensuing language learning has exclusively focused on the East-West flow of students and their investment in English, while ignoring the emerging atypical ‘South-South’ migration pattern and rise of Chinese as a global language. Engaging with interviews with 59 African international students, I trace their ways of thinking and approaches to Chinese language learning which strongly resonate with practices of ‘linguistic entrepreneurship’, as each of them demonstrate self-responsibilisation and constant self-development, while suffering a growing sense of linguistic insecurity. This article debunks the myth of English as the sole language for socioeconomic success, while making a unique contribution to theorising the previously under-recognised value of the Chinese language with the changing global matrices of power.

Summitry Diplomacy in Turkey–Africa Relations: Statements, (Non-)Accomplishments and Effectiveness

ABSTRACT Over the last two decades, summits have gained great importance in developing relations with African countries and they have become useful tools to understand intersecting roadmaps on the continent. China, India, Japan, the United States, European countries and Russia conducted various summits and business forums targeting to develop their political, economic and military relations with Africa. In this vein, FOCAC (Forum on China–Africa Cooperation), European Union–Africa Business and Investment Summits, Japan’s Africa Development Summits and Russia–Africa Summit provide some details of these powers’ Africa policy. Turkey has also emerged as a new actor and summit organizer in Africa since it opened a new page for Africa in its foreign policy in 2005. After being a strategic partner to the African Union in 2008, Turkey has conducted three Turkey–Africa summits, Istanbul (2008), Malabo (2014) and Istanbul (2021), to form its roadmap in Africa. This work aims to analyse the role of Africa–Turkey summits in the development of Turkey’s Africa policy and its relationship with African countries. The paper looks at all declarations comprehensively to evaluate Turkey’s foreign policy discourse on Africa. Moreover, it examines Turkey’s Africa policy implementations and achievements on the continent through the lens of summits.

Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and National Interest Goals of Ethiopia

This work evaluate the impact of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Ethiopia’s socio-economic goals using the specific variables of trade and investment; industrialisation and Agricultural development, infrastructure development, health care delivery, human resource development and employment generation. It interrogated how the summits, action plans and commitments of FOCAC have impacted these variables in Ethiopia. Anchored on the framework of neo-liberalism, and drawing data from secondary sources, it engaged in qualitative analyses. From the data analysed, it was observed based on all the variables measured that some positive changes have taken place in Ethiopia since the establishment of the Forum. However, like in other countries of Africa, Ethiopia is treated as a junior partner in the relationship, albeit, paternalistically. Consequently, Ethiopia approaches her relationship to China with an inferior to superior attitude. This is notwithstanding the fact that China needs Ethiopia for her national interest goals, especially her need for natural resources, access to East Africa markets and influence wielding in Africa through AU’s seat of power located in the country. It was found out that the socio-economic activities of China have not engendered socio-economic independence of Ethiopia. Based on the findings, the work recommended that Ethiopia should stand up to China as an equal partner for mutuality of benefits as envisaged by FOCAC. To this end, FOCAC desk need to be established in Ethiopia with the prime responsibility of critically evaluating Chinese activities to ensure they comply with approved national and international standards. It is also important that Ethiopia strengthens her institutions to make and enforce rules and regulations that can act as bulwark to national exploitations by China.

THE EAST ASIA-AFRICA RELATION DYNAMICS: THE IMPLICATIONS OF PRC-NIGERIA ECONOMIC COOPERATION THROUGH (FOCAC) FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS

This paper reviews the form of cooperation and the implications of economic cooperation between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Nigeria, in the economic field within the framework of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The theory used is the theory of International Cooperation according to K.J. Holsti. the author will look specifically at what are some of Nigeria's abundant wealth that should be utilized and how it has implications for the Nigerian economy and the author will also look at how the region building in Africa is in political and economic challenges. The purpose of writing this paper is to find out how cooperation takes shape and the implications of PRC-Nigeria economic cooperation through the Forum on China Africa Cooperation. The author also argues that China also has a national interest in Nigeria. The author also sees the economic implications for Nigeria as important to encourage Nigeria and the African region in general.

Skill Transfer in Sino-Nigerian Rail Transportation Partnership: A Quest for Sustainability of the Rail Sub-Sector in Nigeria

The moribund nature of railway system in Nigeria due to lack of indigenous engineering and funding facilitated the renewed interest in Sino-Nigerian partnership largely framed by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC) process, and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to develop Nigeria infrastructure. Consequently, despite the cooperation from China, through Sino-Nigerian partnership, there is uncertainty surrounding the Chinese skills transfer to Nigerian rail workers towards sustainable maintenance of Nigerian railway system. The paper explores the nature and level of skills transfer in Sino-Nigerian rail transportation partnership, and ascertained the employment considerations vis-à-vis skills transfer in the rail transportation partnership. It also examined the challenges and hindrance of skill transfer in Sino-Nigerian rail transportation partnership in Nigeria. Descriptive research design was engaged through qualitative approach. The approach relied on interviews as a form of primary data in sourcing for relevant information from participants. Quota and purposive (with snowball) sampling technique were engaged to select participants for the study. Content analysis was engaged for data analysis. The findings showed that non-technical workers were the major beneficiaries of Sino-Nigerian skill transfer through on-the-job training. Thus, the knowledge transfer was slower than expected and the Nigerian engineers who were supposed to acquire the most important skills in SGR project were not given the opportunity by the Chinese. The study concluded that there is an apt need for Nigeria to develop her own indigenous technology that will be viable for long-term usage of railway sub-sector without relying on external technology.

Development of Education in Ghana: The China Impact

Ghana’s efforts towards educational development over the years have received supports from her cooperative nations. China is noted as one country that has in recent times helped significantly in the global development of the Africa region through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and through other international relations. China has increased its support to other nation’s development of education that includes Ghana. In the light of this, the study examined the China’s impact in Ghana’s efforts towards development. The research employed a descriptive survey design. Specifically, it adopted qualitative approach for conducting the research. The study's data was mostly gathered from secondary sources, and it covered the years 1992 to 2022. Content qualitative analysis was used to examine the data to provide answers the research questions. The study found that China has positively impacted educational development in Ghana in the forms of educational infrastructural support, vocational and technical educational support, strengthening of the human resource of education in Ghana, promotion of girl-child education, promotion of ICT education, and several others. It is recommended that Ghana must esteem and protect its bilateral relationship with China owing to the value that comes out of their relationship.

Reading the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (2000-2021): geoeconomics, governance, and embedding ‘creative involvement’

ABSTRACT How China can promote its overseas commercial and strategic interests and protect its citizens and investments while continuing to adhere to a longstanding commitment to non-interference is a subject of intense policy and academic debate. A notion of ‘creative involvement’ has been developed to specify an increasingly flexible and pragmatic approach to projecting and managing China’s expanding global interests. In this research a close reading of the Declarations and Action Plans of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) over the period 2000–21 reveals specific degrees and types of embedding of Chinese involvement in Africa’s complex political economic landscape and an evolving reorientation of development cooperation policy practices shaped by growing concerns with African economic policy and local governance issues.

Introduction

Introduction Rachel Bernstein (bio) [End Page 1] Over the last decade, China's presence on the global stage has shifted dramatically: the country is now an economic powerhouse and increasingly influential in international organizations. As China rises, questions also arise pertaining to its strategic objectives toward many regions and in many domains. China appears to be seeking a "loose, partial, and malleable" hegemony over the global South—making the African continent a strategic priority for Beijing.1 This Asia Policy roundtable is a result of a current research initiative at the National Bureau of Asian Research, "Into Africa: China's Emerging Strategy," which aims to better understand China's strategic ambitions in Africa and assess how the continent fits into China's envisioned global order. The first three reports in this project to date have examined China's expansion into Africa from Beijing's perspective, often relying on Chinese-language sources to draw conclusions and analyze China's strategy.2 Yet, only looking at Beijing's viewpoint to get a fuller grasp on China-Africa relations would be a gross oversight that would provide an incomplete impression of China's engagement with the continent. Africa is a continent with 54 countries and a population of more than 1.3 billion people. China's engagement with the continent, of course, does not have the same level of impact or influence in all these countries, and not all states share the same opinion regarding China's presence. This roundtable seeks to share, highlight, and examine African perspectives regarding China's engagement with and influence on the continent. The essays here provide both regional and functional case studies examining different facets of the China-Africa relationship from the perspective of African [End Page 2] states, ranging from medical diplomacy and infrastructure development to smart cities in Kenya and the Digital Silk Road to local responses to China's growing influence and image campaigns in Zambia and Mauritius. Cobus van Staden evaluates China's medical diplomacy as the Covid-19 pandemic becomes endemic. While China's mask diplomacy in the early phases of the pandemic was effective and garnered positive responses, its later vaccine diplomacy suffered setbacks. Although Beijing appeared to overpromise and underdeliver, he concludes that vaccine and medical diplomacy can be considered a diplomatic victory for China, compared to the West's disappointing and underwhelming response. Looking at another area of diplomacy and outreach, Mandira Bagwandeen discusses China's infrastructure investments and application of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in African countries as well as key outcomes from the Eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in November 2021. Amid accusations of debt-trap diplomacy and the financial pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic, she finds that China has demonstrated some willingness to negotiate debt-relief measures with African states. Discussions at FOCAC, however, indicated that China intends to begin re-directing its development assistance away from financing infrastructure development through large loans and toward trade facilitation. Also under the BRI umbrella is the Digital Silk Road, which is focused on improving states' infrastructure for information and communications technology and digital capabilities. As Ovigwe Eguegu explains, the Digital Silk Road is attractive to many African governments, including Ethiopia, Senegal, Gambia, and Zimbabwe, due to China's emphasis on digital sovereignty, which aligns with their development priorities. However, obstacles, such as a lack of digital infrastructure, still must be overcome before the Digital Silk Road becomes fully popularized in Africa. Bulelani Jili also addresses technology development in Africa, focusing particularly on smart cities in Kenya as a case study. He argues that China's "no strings attached" lending practices, especially for technology development, create opportunities for technology to be abused in societies where few data and privacy regulations exist. Jili asserts that it is not necessarily the sharing of the technologies that is worrisome, but the local governance conditions that can enable unjust surveillance practices in smart cities and using smart technologies. Obert Hodzi examines the effect of China's rise and presence in Africa on democracy and development, looking specifically at Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. He argues that while China does not promote [End Page 3] its authoritarian model, by highlighting...

Chinese Vaccine Diplomacy in Africa

Chinese Vaccine Diplomacy in Africa Cobus van Staden (bio) Medicine has long played a key role in the Africa-China relationship. Since 1963, China has sent teams of medical volunteers to the continent annually to provide primary healthcare to underserved countries and targeted care related to particular diseases, notably malaria.1 China has also been instrumental in the development of a new generation of malaria medication, and the Ebola crisis of the 2010s created space for collaboration between China and other external partners on the continent. But most recently and most starkly, the Covid-19 pandemic has both validated and raised doubts about China-Africa medical cooperation, even as the virus ruthlessly exposed the realities of Africa's wider global position. This essay assesses China's diplomacy and cooperation with African countries in two stages of the Covid-19 pandemic: the early phase that focused on virus mitigation through personal protective equipment (PPE) and healthcare supplies, and a second phase that has focused on Covid-19 vaccine production and distribution. It argues that although China was more successful in partnering with Africa early in the pandemic, China has enjoyed diplomatic gains from the second stage due to the failure of the global North and its multilateral institutions to live up to their promises regarding sharing vaccines and vaccine intellectual property (IP). The essay examines China's diplomacy and then turns to look at similar efforts of the global North. It concludes with observations about the recent Eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the lasting effects Covid-19 responses may have on Africa's relationships with China and with traditional Western partners. The Early Stages of the Covid-19 Epidemic and PPE Diplomacy In the earliest stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when it was still contained in China, several African countries provided emergency [End Page 5] assistance to China in the form of PPE and other support.2 China managed to control the epidemic earlier than other countries, and as the virus spread internationally, China stepped into the role of providing PPE, ventilators, and other medical supplies to countries around the world, including in Africa. While the Chinese government was the figurehead of this outreach, Chinese companies were key to the rollout. This was due not only to China's massive production capacity but also to the logistic muscle underlying its global distribution capacity. For instance, e-commerce giant Alibaba played an important role, especially given its transport and logistics networks. This capacity to aid was boosted by additional funding from the Jack Ma Foundation. The founder of Alibaba, Ma became the face of early Covid-19 outreach to Africa, which added to the political impact of the cooperation until Ma's subsequent fall from grace in China and disappearance from public view. This event was part of China's marked shift from PPE diplomacy to vaccine diplomacy. Ethiopian Air, Ethiopia's national carrier, played a key role in shaping Covid-19 diplomacy between the continent and China, especially during the early phase of the pandemic. As the crisis gathered steam in China, airlines increasingly started reducing flights to the country or discontinuing service completely. Ethiopian Air, however, continued its flights, soon becoming the only carrier to remain in service between Africa and China.3 This made Ethiopian Air a key partner for Chinese PPE diplomacy. Ethiopian Air worked with Alibaba to facilitate PPE deliveries to all African countries, using Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport as a logistics hub. The collaboration between the Jack Ma Foundation, Alibaba, and Ethiopian Air filled planes with masks, ventilators, and other supplies, and the planes touched down to make deliveries in African capital after capital as an iconic emblem of solidarity, especially as demand in the global North for masks and other equipment made it nearly impossible for African countries to source such goods.4 The position of African students in Wuhan and other Chinese cities also became an issue early in the pandemic. China's facilitation of [End Page 6] these students' evacuation strengthened diplomatic ties. For example, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa publicly thanked the Chinese authorities for their help in arranging the evacuations.5 However, the status of...

Changing Realities: China-Africa Infrastructure Development

Changing Realities:China-Africa Infrastructure Development Mandira Bagwandeen (bio) Through an extensive portfolio of infrastructure investments, China has played a crucial role in helping Africa reduce deficits in its infrastructure. Over the past decade and a half, Chinese state-owned or state-aligned construction and engineering companies have strategically entered African markets with assistance from the Chinese government. Under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese companies took on mega-infrastructure projects, especially in the energy and transport sectors, that could aid African countries with achieving higher levels of development. However, these mega-BRI projects came with hefty price tags that have contributed to compounding the debt stress of several African nations. In this regard, many international (and especially Western) actors have accused China of predatory lending practices and debt-trap diplomacy. This narrative has been further amplified amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had significant ramifications for BRI projects in Africa and around the world. The pandemic has created some doubt about whether Chinese-funded and–built infrastructure projects can be completed and, more importantly, whether African states have the fiscal capacity to repay these development loans. With reduced revenues available to African governments, the risk of defaulting on loan repayments is high. Moreover, because of the burden of loan repayments, African states are handicapped in their response measures to Covid-19 and its economic consequences. The Eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in November 2021 demonstrated that due to changing realities—including China's domestic economic concerns, U.S.-China trade tensions, the global economic impact of Covid-19, and Africa's pandemic-induced debt stress—Beijing seems to have realized that it cannot continue to be Africa's go-to bank for financing infrastructure development. This essay outlines that China may not be as willing as it was in past years to finance infrastructure development projects in Africa. It explores the impact of Covid-19 on the development of BRI infrastructure projects in Africa and briefly assesses the validity of the debt-trap and predatory lending accusations leveled against China. Additionally, the essay addresses [End Page 18] the Eighth FOCAC summit, which indicated that China is likely to reduce its focus on development financing for hard infrastructure in its cooperation with African countries. China's Belt and Road Infrastructure in Africa and Covid-19 As of 2019, China was the single-largest source of finance for African infrastructure, having "finance[d] one in five projects and construct[ed] one in three."1 Although the continent's enormous infrastructural investment gap cannot solely be met by Chinese financing, Beijing's role in contributing to the development of the region's infrastructure has been crucial. The China-Africa infrastructure partnership was strengthened under the impetus of BRI, which was introduced in 2013. The initiative closely centers on the Chinese proverb that "if you want to get rich, build a road first" and the argument that "infrastructure investments presuppose economic growth and enhance quality of life."2 This logic is particularly appealing to African states that are desperate to reduce their deficits in infrastructure. Several African scholars have opined that BRI could play a critical role in Africa's industrialization and infrastructure development through the building of synergies between Agenda 2063, the pan-African development plan of the African Union (AU), and BRI.3 Even individual African leaders and the AU welcomed China's infrastructural drive on the continent motivated by BRI. In January 2015, China and the AU signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on developing major transport infrastructure networks (high-speed railways, aviation, and highways) and industrialization infrastructure. With the ambition to connect all 54 African states through transport infrastructure projects, this memorandum complements and aligns with Agenda 2063, which in turn aims to accelerate continental integration through the development of transport infrastructure and industrialization. Massive national and regional projects worth billions of dollars, mostly in the transport and [End Page 19] energy sectors, began to pop up across the continent. As of April 2019, China had BRI projects in 42 different African countries,4 and by January 2021 a total of 46 out of 54 African countries had signed on to become official...

China, Africa And The 2021 Dakar Focac

THE EIGHTH FORUM ON CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION (FOCAC) was held in Dakar on 29–30 November 2021. It saw the Chinese government, 53 African countries and the African Union (AU) Commission meet under the theme ‘Deepen China-Africa Partnership and Promote Sustainable Development to Build a China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in the New Era’. Staged every 3 years, FOCAC is usually an important and high-profile event to take stock of developments in China–Africa relations, but interest in the 2021 Dakar FOCAC was more muted than previously. This reflected its ministerial—rather than heads of state summit—level and the challenges of convening such a meeting during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. It also reflected the comparatively less eye-catching nature of its results, with other media stories, such as the possible Chinese seizure of Entebbe Airport in Uganda, upstaging proceedings.1 Many external reactions to FOCAC’s outcomes could be summarized as less money...

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

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.

Chinese Diplomacy Discourse in the Prism of the Relations with the Sub-Saharan Region

Chinese economic reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping have given China the necessary push for the development and growth of the domestic economy. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) under Xi Jinping claims, that the originally planned transformation is completed, and China is ready for achieving new goals, such as first peripherical and, later, global dominance, leadership in manufacturing and technology and probably even the moral benchmark. The PRC presents a new model of global order with its active position as the super nation.Chinese current behaviour on the international stage is the direct illustration of the political thought of Xi Jinping. To understand the main principles and the vision of the PRC under Xi, his principles of diplomacy have been analysed.This paper claims, that the rhetoric of Xi Jinping and his administration is a neo-pragmatic approach, which includes nativism, anti-traditionalism and pragmatism within.The article takes as a case study for the implementation of the Chinese foreign policy the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) member states.Contrarily to the American dominance, China suggests guidance, collaboration with mutual benefits and growth, which involves both sides. “Shift in space” stresses the concrete steps for achieving the “China’s dream” of rejuvenation.

Chinese Diplomacy Discourse in the Prism of the Relations with the Sub-Saharan Region

Chinese economic reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping have given China the necessary push for the development and growth of the domestic economy. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) under Xi Jinping claims, that the originally planned transformation is completed, and China is ready for achieving new goals, such as first peripherical and, later, global dominance, leadership in manufacturing and technology and probably even the moral benchmark. The PRC presents a new model of global order with its active position as the super nation.Chinese current behaviour on the international stage is the direct illustration of the political thought of Xi Jinping. To understand the main principles and the vision of the PRC under Xi, his principles of diplomacy have been analysed.This paper claims, that the rhetoric of Xi Jinping and his administration is a neo-pragmatic approach, which includes nativism, anti-traditionalism and pragmatism within.The article takes as a case study for the implementation of the Chinese foreign policy the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) member states.Contrarily to the American dominance, China suggests guidance, collaboration with mutual benefits and growth, which involves both sides. “Shift in space” stresses the concrete steps for achieving the “China’s dream” of rejuvenation.

Assessment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Significance of the First Beijing Summit (2000) to Africa

This study assessed FOCAC and the significance of the first Beijing Summit resolutions to Africa. The paper adopted developmental research design and qualitative method of data collection by means of secondary data. The study also leveraged on complex interdependence theory as a framework for analysis. The study found out that the Beijing Summit resolution to Africa organized in the year 2000 laid the foundation of mutual cooperation and assistance for the forum on China-Africa cooperation. Assessing the significance of the summit in consonance with the aims and objectives of FOCAC, as highlighted at the summit, it was found out that the summit was significant not only in the areas of debt cancellation and establishment of African human resource development fund and investment, but also in the areas of boosting rapid development of overall cooperation, leading a new type of international cooperation with Africa, promoting democratization of international relations and improving global governance on the principle of win-win cooperation. The paper lamented that there are some challenges faced by FOCAC and recommendations were provided.