BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to open the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit on Thursday, where he is expected to encourage African leaders to increase imports of Chinese goods in exchange for pledges of loans and investment.
The summit, which takes place every three years, officially begins today with a welcome dinner for representatives from 50 African nations and will conclude on Friday, following negotiations on cooperation agreements that will shape China-Africa relations through 2027.
China, the world’s largest bilateral lender, approved $4.61 billion in loans to Africa last year, marking the first annual increase since 2016. However, Beijing is now looking to streamline its investment approach, focusing on “small and beautiful projects” rather than large-scale infrastructure, which was a key focus in previous summits.
At this year’s summit, analysts anticipate that Xi will emphasize the competitiveness of China’s green technologies, which Beijing is keen to export as it faces overcapacity issues in this sector. Additionally, the Chinese leader is expected to discuss technology transfer initiatives and increased people-to-people exchanges. China may also pledge to expand credit lines available to African central banks and businesses, building on the $10 billion commitment made at the last summit, while offering support for developing digital finance and e-payment systems.
African Leaders’ Priorities
African leaders attending the summit are seeking quicker financing solutions to address the continent’s growing debt crisis, as well as new job-creating investment commitments. There is also keen interest in ensuring that projects promised during the last summit in Dakar are completed. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in a meeting with Xi earlier this week, expressed his country’s desire to reduce its trade deficit with China—a goal shared by many African nations. Leaders are hopeful that Beijing will offer better terms for their agricultural and natural resource exports to help achieve this.
Another key concern for African delegates is the fulfillment of a pledge made at the 2021 summit, where China promised to purchase $300 billion worth of African goods. Many African food exporters have struggled to penetrate the Chinese market due to strict phytosanitary regulations, and there is hope that these barriers will be eased.
Throughout the week, African leaders have also been engaging with Chinese companies, urging them to establish manufacturing hubs in Africa to help advance the continent’s industrial sector.
Summit Proceedings in Beijing
On Tuesday, China’s foreign and commerce ministers met with African delegates at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to begin discussions on two key documents: the action plan for 2024-2027 and a report on the implementation of agreements from the last summit in Dakar. These documents are expected to be finalized and signed by all delegates by the end of the summit.
The summit, the first in-person FOCAC meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen a series of bilateral meetings between Chinese and African leaders. President Xi has already met with more than 20 African heads of state, according to Chinese state media, underscoring the importance of the summit in solidifying China-Africa relations.
Source: Reuters