African governments should use the combined strength of the continent’s markets to bargain for better terms with China, panellists said at the launch of a book on trade between Africa and the Asian country.
The book by Paul Tembe, Xi Jinping and the Flourishing Forum on China-Africa Co-operation in the New Era, was published a few weeks before the forum summit in September at which more than 50 African states will discuss the future of China and Africa.
The Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) was established in 2000. It is held every three years to promote group discussion and real-world collaboration between China and African states, excluding Eswatini. China has committed more than $130bn in credit under the Focac since 2006.
Director of the Institute for the Future of Knowledge at the University of Johannesburg Arthur Mutambara said African countries had to be clear about what they wanted out of the relationship with the global powerhouse and on what constituted a win for Africa.
“As we head towards the summit and as we celebrate this book, we must be very clear as Africans as to what we want and what is our definition of an African win.” Mutambara said. “We want inclusive development in Africa, we want shared prosperity on the continent,” he said, adding that the summit needed to focus on what needed to be done to achieve those goals.
Outlining how global attention had changed from fighting poverty to the green transition, the director of international relations and partnership at the National School of Government, Bongani Mayimele, urged African states visiting Beijing to establish an agenda in line with their realities and focus on reducing poverty.
“Don’t get us wrong, the green transition is important but it must be done simultaneously while pursuing development,” he said.
Tembe echoed the sentiment for African agency in negotiations, highlighting that China drew up the previous China-Africa policy papers. “When it comes to policy formation and strategising for this humongous Focac ... the clarion call is African agency.”
China’s ambassador to SA, Wu Yen, praised the forum for being a model of South-South co-operation and an example of international collaboration with Africa. He said it was China’s long-term strategic choice and the cornerstone of its foreign policy, led by Xi Jinping, to strengthen co-operation and solidarity with African nations.
“Focac is the most important symbol of China-Africa solidarity and co-operation,” the ambassador said. “Our development philosophies are highly compatible, and we are partners in our journey towards modernisation.”
The panellists, who included Nepad director Henry Short, ANC national executive committee member Lindiwe Zulu, SA National Press Club chair Mdzuli and department of trade, industry & competition chief of staff Jeffrey Sehume, agreed that African countries had lessons to learn from China about infrastructure development and building capable developmental states.
“The Chinese have been able to move 800-million people out of poverty in 40 years,” said Mutambara. “That’s inclusive development, that’s shared prosperity.”
Infrastructure development
The speakers emphasised the need for accelerated integrated infrastructure development on the continent that would allow states to take full advantage of the African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, saying there could not be a building of local economies without infrastructure ramp-ups through Focac.
Highlighting that part of China’s success story came through infrastructure development, Mutambara called for infrastructure that enabled integration in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), including railways and airways.
“Infrastructure is the economy and the economy is infrastructure,” Mutambara said.
He said economic transformation was also necessary, in which countries moved up the value chain through beneficiation and value adds, rather than selling raw materials to China and other developed nations. However, he cautioned against African states negotiating alone.
“SA, you are too small ... you are 60-million people with a GDP of $403bn. That is [small] change. You must talk about 1.4-billion Africans, and a collective GDP of $2.5-trillion ... that is the economy that should be dealing with China, not bilateral deals.
“We don’t want a bilateral deal between Botswana and China or Zimbabwe and China,” he said, “We want a deal between China and Sadc, a deal between China and Africa.”
In 2023, the trade between China and Africa reached a record high of $282bn, with China’s foreign direct investment in Africa exceeding $40bn.
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