China to open markets to African countries, Xi Jinping says – FOCAC summit as it happened
Leaders of more than 50 African countries gather in Beijing, with climate, infrastructure, security and debt on the agenda
Billed as Beijing’s biggest diplomatic event in years, leaders and representatives of more than 50 African countries are attending the forum, which is held every three years.
More from our coverage of the summit
Reporting by Josephine Ma, Jevans Nyabiage, Kawala Xie and Zhao Ziwen
Xi’s speech highlights several areas for future China-Africa cooperation:
Modernisation of the Global South
Trade
Beijing will open its markets to 33 least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa, which will enjoy zero tariffs on all Chinese products.
Finance and Investment
Over the next three years, China is willing to provide funding of 360 billion yuan (US$50.6 billion) to support its 10-point initiative, including 210 billion yuan in loans and 80 billion yuan in aid. It will also encourage Chinese companies to invest at least 70 billion yuan in Africa.
Governance
China will help train African officials to improve governance. Beijing will build 25 African research centres and invite 1,000 African officials and politicians to China to learn about modern governance.
Military aid and training
China will provide 1 billion yuan in military aid to Africa and help train 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 law enforcement officers. It will also invite 500 young military officers to visit China.
Technology, green industry and health
Beijing will build 20 digitalisation projects to help the continent “embrace the new technology revolution”. It will also cooperate with African countries on laboratories and satellite remote sensing.
Other initiatives include sending 1 billion yuan in emergency food relief, building 30 green energy projects and sending 500 agricultural experts and 2,000 medical practitioners to the continent.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the forum will support the 10-point action plan that Xi proposed.
He also says the forum’s draft declaration will support “one-China policy”.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani praises FOCAC for effectively promoting and developing the China-Africa partnership, which today is “a leading model for South-South cooperation”.
“The African continent today, given the internal issues it faces and the strong negative repercussions of the destructive environmental, economic and security crises sweeping the world, is in dire need of the People’s Republic of China’s assistance in establishing security and stability, promoting growth and strengthening its voice in international forums,” Ghazouani says.
As head of the last FOCAC host country, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye thanks China for its effective partnership through the establishment of several initiatives and dialogues with Africa in the pursuit of modernisation.
Speaking in French, he says this has been done despite “violence and extremism” in the global environment and complex economic and social factors.
In particular, Faye says, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been an important contributor to Africa’s infrastructure, especially highways and railways.
He thanks China as the first to support Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic, and says China and Africa have a “traditional relationship in combating colonialism”.
Xi says China will not leave any African country behind on the road to modernisation.
“We will gather the great power of 2.8 billion Chinese and African people to jointly move forward on our path to modernisation, which will also propel that of the Global South,” he says, wrapping up the speech.