China, Africa to Stay at Forefront in Pursuing Modernization

Xi hosts welcome banquet for guests attending FOCAC summit

By Fan Anqi and Liu Caiyu

Sep 05, 2024 12:59 AM

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, pose for a photo with foreign dignitaries before a welcome banquet for the guests attending the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, on September 4, 2024, in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday lauded the "stellar example" of China-Africa relations as China rolled out the red carpet for African leaders attending a grand summit expected to further elevate ties. 

Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a banquet to welcome international guests who are in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The China-Africa community with a shared future is deeply rooted in the traditional friendship between the two sides, Xi said, adding that the friendship remains robust and is growing stronger through generations no matter how the world changes.

Wednesday marks the beginning of the three-day 2024 FOCAC Summit, themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future." It is the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.

The China-Africa community with a shared future thrives on the strength of win-win cooperation. Twenty-four years ago, FOCAC was born at the dawn of a new century, said Xi, noting that through this key cooperation platform, "we have together built roads, railways, schools, hospitals, industrial parks, and special economic zones. These projects have changed the lives and destiny of many people."

Noting that the China-Africa community with a shared future grows in step with the times, Xi said the two sides have maintained close cooperation and coordination on major international and regional issues, and together have made the voice of the Global South stronger.

He expressed confidence that as long as the 2.8 billion-strong Chinese and African people are united, "we will accomplish new and even greater feats together on the way toward modernization, spearhead the modernization drive of the Global South, and make greater contributions to a community with a shared future for mankind."

Earlier on the day, Xi met with leaders of a number of African countries, including the Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Libya, Gabon and Cameroon.

Specifically, China and Cameroon announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, and China and Libya announced the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries. 

Also on Wednesday, Xi, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema jointly witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the revitalization project of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway.

New blueprint

The theory and practice of Chinese modernization has provided a paradigm that can be borrowed for Africa's path to modernization, meanwhile outlining a new blueprint for China-Africa cooperation, experts said. 

While Western discourse is about "the developed and the developing," "the North and South," creating such a gap in the mentality of citizens of local countries, China has provided Africa with a very different perspective, African scholars said during the ongoing FOCAC in Beijing. 

"China is saying 'let's go together.' The Chinese initiative is for reaching modernization and industrialization for a better future, not going to be done by the US or other great powers, but it's by all the powers together as we are all partners," Rana Mohamed Abd El AAl Mazid, the head and associate professor of political science at Suez Canal University, Egypt, told the Global Times.

For African countries that had been heavily interfered by external forces in the past, China, which also once suffered from colonial plunder, managed to break the "modernization paradox" and dispelled the misconception that "modernization equals Westernization," as it embarked on a new path with independence and autonomy, African scholars noted.

The Chinese modernization is offering insights for Africa from two main aspects - economic development and social governance, said Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

"China achieved significant economic growth after the reform and opening-up, rapidly becoming the world's second-largest economy. This experience is particularly attractive to Africa, as achieving economic independence is currently their most crucial task," Song said.  

In recent days, a number of leaders from the African countries made visits to Chinese cities pioneering economic development through reform and opening-up, including Shanghai and Shenzhen, before attending the event in Beijing. 

"These cities have rich experiences in the development of economic zones, and they have successfully attracted foreign investment by optimizing their business environment. These experiences are appealing to Africa to help them attract international capital to drive growth," Song noted. 

With challenges including various ethnic conflicts across the continent, China's experiences in grassroots governance, minority policies, local government performance reforms, and poverty alleviation offer valuable insights, Song said. 

'Another option'

Chinese modernization has given Africa and the world "another option" that is different from the West and puts more emphasis on finding a path more suited to a country's own conditions, experts said, with some believing that China's case in this regard is more useful as a reference, given the similar historical backgrounds, similar starting points, and the common task of rapid transformation faced by "latecomers." This makes cooperation in governance capabilities between China and Africa particularly crucial, observers noted.

The political landscape is evolving, with the foundations of the game shifting. The once dominant Bretton Woods system has transformed, moving away from notions of justice and equality. Instead, China is establishing new pillars for a fairer system, one that promotes mutual benefit and cooperation rather than a zero-sum mentality, some experts noted. 

"The role of the state in driving development is crucial, especially in managing debt for infrastructure and public goods. However, the governance structure inherited from the West poses challenges, and even leads to social unrest. Addressing these contradictions is essential for Africa to progress with its modernization agenda," said Munetsi Madakufamba, Executive Director of Southern African Research and Documentation Centre.

Madakufamba said that "the most important thing is China has walked through a similar path. China is experienced, it has gone through and made some mistakes along the way…The cooperation between China and Africa is a win-win partnership, emphasizing the importance of understanding each other's context, circumstances, and development priorities."