Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host a summit with African leaders from September 4 to September 6 in Beijing. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) aims to further deepen China’s influence on the African continent.
Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, announced that African leaders would attend the summit at FOCAC’s invitation. “Leaders of FOCAC’s African members will attend the summit at the invitation of the forum,” Hua stated. The Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs added that representatives from relevant African regional and international organizations would also be present.
The summit’s theme, “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future,” underscores the collaborative spirit of the event. This meeting comes as China aims to strengthen its ties with Africa, with President William Ruto expected to lead the Kenyan delegation.
Kenya and China have been in discussions about various cooperation areas, which they aim to pursue at this year’s FOCAC summit. Education is among the key areas Kenya is expected to focus on during the three-day meeting in Beijing. Chinese ambassador to Kenya, Zhou Pingjian, highlighted the potential of the summit, stating, “The meeting will bring cooperation opportunities for our friends for the next five years and beyond.”
The summit will also follow up on resolutions from a ministerial summit held in Dakar, Senegal, in November 2021. According to a brief on the upcoming meeting, Chinese and African leaders will discuss advancing China-Africa cooperation to a new level and keeping it current. “One focus would be exchanging governance experiences to speed up modernization,” the brief read. It also emphasized China’s commitment to supporting Africa’s modernization efforts, stating, “China will, as always, give Africa full support as the continent modernizes in its own way and holds its future destiny firmly in its own hands.”
A recent plenary session of China’s key decision-making body, chaired by President Xi, resolved to deepen reforms to advance Chinese modernization. For the Chinese government, there is a compelling reason for China and Africa to “join hands in building a community with a shared future at a high level.”
In March 2024, Chinese and African scholars under the FOCAC think-tank urged both sides to explore independent, people-centered development paths based on cultural characteristics, mutual respect, and mutual learning. This year’s summit will ratify the Dar es Salaam Consensus, among other instruments.
China boasts significant contributions to Africa, including building 150,000 kilometers of communication backbone networks serving over 700 million users. The Asian powerhouse has also carried out clean energy power generation projects and developed infrastructure such as roads, railways, and seaports across the continent.
The brief on the summit reads, “China and Africa will renew their commitment to China-Africa friendship and cooperation, share ideas and open up new prospects for the high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation.”
President Ruto previously attended China’s 3rd Belt and Road Initiative Forum in October last year, where he reached several cooperation agreements on infrastructure development. The upcoming FOCAC summit is expected to further build on these agreements, providing a platform for enhancing cooperation between China and Africa in various sectors, including education, infrastructure, and governance.
As the summit approaches, the world will be watching closely to see how these discussions and agreements shape the future of China-Africa relations. The focus on modernization and high-level cooperation promises to bring about significant developments that could impact both regions for years to come.
