Approximately 50 African leaders are in Beijing for the 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which started on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested to the gathered African leaders that the relationships with all African nations holding diplomatic ties with China should be upgraded to a “strategic” level.
“China will voluntarily and unilaterally open its market wider. We have decided to give all Least Developed Countries having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines,” he said.
Since the establishment of the China-Africa forum in 2000, China has emerged as a significant force in Africa.
Chinese companies have made substantial investments in mining to secure essential resources for their industries, while development banks have provided loans for infrastructure projects like railways and roads as part of Xi’s Belt and Road initiative.
Speaking to the leaders, Xi praised the China-Africa relationship as being “at its best in history” after nearly 70 years of development and committed to enhancing the overall ties to create “an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.”
To help decrease their trade deficit, African leaders are looking to China for assistance in boosting agricultural exports and industrializing their economies.
Xi has suggested ten action plans aimed at enhancing collaboration in sectors like industry, agriculture, and infrastructure, while also opening up the market by removing tariffs on goods from many of the world’s poorest nations, including 33 in Africa.
Additionally, he has pledged RMB360 billion yuan in various financial support.
To advance the execution of China’s Global Security Initiative, Xi suggested specific measures.
“(China) will implement the partnership of the Global Security Initiative and build a demonstration zone for cooperation under the initiative (with Africa). We will give Africa RMB1 billion yuan of grants in military assistance, provide training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police and law enforcement officers from Africa, and invite 500 young African military officers to visit China,” he said.
China is now the largest bilateral trading partner for sub-Saharan Africa, exporting far more to the region than it imports.
To address this trade imbalance, African leaders are looking to China for assistance in boosting agricultural exports and advancing industrialization in their economies.
China’s pursuit of allies in Africa has evolved from mere trade and investment to encompass political dimensions.