This week, from 3 to 8 September 2024, Chinese state representatives met with African leaders at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC 2024) also dubbed China-Africa summit 2024, China’s main platform for African engagement. Reactions to China’s global initiatives remain mixed among African leaders.
Over the past few decades, the Chinese government has supported various initiatives to expand China’s global footprint. A key strategy in this regard has been intensifying involvement in the African continent. China is now poised to become Africa’s largest trading partner, something which has elicited extensive debates in academia and the international community alike. Concerns regarding the relationship between China and Africa and China’s role in African development have been especially prominent. While critics, especially Western media regard China as an irresponsible global power, a neocolonial force, that exploits African resources in pursuance of a hidden geopolitical agenda, a fair fraction of African leaders have a different opinion.
A number of African leaders from central to western Africa have embraced China’s major initiatives, notably the Chinese model of development ,one that emphasises delivering development goals with little interference in the domestic politics. Some of the key countries that are in the embrace of this particular model include Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mali.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, in an interview with the CNN said, “China’s influence is growing globally, and the US America itself, along with the whole of Europe are hand in glove with China , and rushing there for business. In the same regard, Africa should be free to transact business in it’s own interest ,regardless of where the business partner comes from.”
For the case of Senegal, President Macky Sall has been increasingly close to Xi Jinping in recent years, in 2022, he hosted the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Dakar, which came up with an action plan that was endorsed by African countries. Their relationships blossomed at the height of Sall’s reign and head of the African Union.
The tenet of the deal here included noninterference in internal affairs, opposition to unilateral sanctions, and “indivisible security,” implying that China’s security cannot be de-linked from the security of its partners. On many occasions, Sall has publicly said that Senegal would work with China for “common development in the spirit of equality, friendship, solidarity and coordination.”
Geopolitically, Africa has vast natural resources and a large population, with new technologies, innovative growth, and development opportunities being created through intensive investments in infrastructure. However, creating a great leap forward for Africa in growth and development has stagnated for decades, notwithstanding the billions of dollars the continent receives through aid and development financing from Western capitals. According to the IMF, the causes of Africa’s stagnation include a wide range of internal weaknesses, a hostile external economic environment, and, in recent years, climatic factors.
To this end, China’s global initiatives have intensified at a time when African countries are already shifting their gaze from the Western-dominated hegemony towards the East to emerging and re-emerging powers for partnerships. Such moves must however be measured to avoid moving from one unhappy partnership to another. It is no secret that African countries have long been discontent with the existing multilateral system dominated by the Western Superpowers, which they joined as rule-takers from a vast colonial territory. There is much in the history and contemporary experiences of African partnerships with the West that the countries of the continent are right to exercise caution as they open up to China.
Some African scholars have attempted to equate China’s global initiatives to the Grand Strategy of the U.S. post-WWII in its international significance and objectives. The U.S. over this period established multilateral financial institutions including the IMF and the World Bank, and supranational institutions including the United Nations. The US also initiated the Marshall Plan to promote regional economic growth, NATO as the regional security framework, and the Bretton Woods system to establish the U.S. dollar standard for the global monetary system. China has built a comparable multilateral regional framework over this period, very similar to the grand strategy of the U.S. post-WWII. There is also much speculation about the total scale of investment under China’s global initiatives.
Global Development Initiatives
China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI) was first put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2021. Declaring that “no country can develop alone” and that “we need to discuss development together,” Xi proclaimed at the launch of the initiative in September 2021. This initiative seeks to bring together countries and international organizations to enhance a sense of community for global development. Co-sponsored by China, Senegal, and the 77th group of developing countries, the GDI aims to fast-track the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.Its core requirement is a people-centered approach, its foremost philosophy is united, equal, balanced, and inclusive global development partnerships, and its pivotal measure entails results-oriented actions to bolster stronger, greener, and healthier global development and jointly build a global community of development.
More than 100 nations and numerous international organizations, including the United Nations and many African nations, have endorsed the GDI one year after its founding. Kenya was one of the first African partners to sign a GDI cooperation document with China, and the Kenyan President William Ruto has on several occasions hailed China for the mutually beneficial partnership. South Africa, which is also a member of the BRICS is another Sub-Saharan African country whose leaders have been unequivocal in strongly supporting both China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and GDI. Broadly, African leaders expect benefits related to cheaper local infrastructure development and low-condition future loans to counteract the western influence on African development. However, there are perceived risks in relation to Africa’s reduced leverage over possible Chinese default and debt-equity. On this risk, President Paul Kagame believes that African leaders would only have themselves to blame, if these problems came to bear.
In South Africa’s case, leaders also refer to “win-win cooperation” developmental opportunities under the GDI framework and are on the whole positive towards this initiative, although they would like to avoid falling into a new type of colonialism. On the other hand, the Ghanaian President challenges the GDI proposal due to fears of threats from the Western-backed IMF and possible debt-trap diplomacy risks.
Some African countries feel that the GDI will bring opportunities to overcome “financing, capacity, technological, and experience gaps.” It is perceived to level the playing field by countering the conditionalities and geopolitical agendas attached to the investments from the West. African leaders praised China for promoting mutual respect and win-win cooperation in economic development. The GDI is by no means a stand-alone undertaking, and its compatibility with the African Union’s Vision 2063 and Agenda 2063, and continental development programs such as the Programme for Infrastructural Development in Africa and the African Continental Free Trade Area, is strongly emphasized. It is upon this background that leaders perceive China’s development initiative as a move to improve the global governance system.
Leaders contemplate that China's proposed initiative on global governance reform could have positive implications for African interests in the system. Despite grievances toward China, African leaders emphasize mutual benefits in most dimensions of engagement. Therefore, while there are mixed perspectives by African leaders towards China’s GDI, the perceptions are largely positive, and enthusiastic.
Through the Global Security Initiative (GSI), China seeks to work with the international community in upholding the spirit of the UN Charter. The GSI calls for a "comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security" approach and consists of six points. China has significantly promoted this initiative since its announcement, including a special address by President Xi at the opening ceremony of the African Union (AU) Assembly in February 2023. While African scholars and policymakers have been underrepresented in this discourse on GSI, the initiative has been met with skepticism by some researchers, think tanks, and media worldwide.
China has been playing a prominent role in promoting peace and stability in Africa by conducting peacekeeping operations across the continent. Over the last decade, China has ranked among the top ten contributors of both personnel and funding to the United Nations peacekeeping operations globally and has deployed over two thousand personnel to five UN peacekeeping operations in Africa
Research as stated by different scholars revealed a strong preference among African leaders for non-Western security cooperation with China. Once GSI-compatible security partners had been identified, African leaders identified specific areas of cooperative action with China under the GSI framework. These included: (1) expansion of the African Standby Force (ASF) initiative, (2) expanded partnership in Africa’s blue economy, and (3) establishment of a China-Africa Health Cooperation Mechanism involving a Fund for GSI Implementation. These issues were also discussed during the second GSI conference held in Addis Ababa, in December 2022. Other areas of focus, not directly inspired by the GSI, included deepening military-to-military relations and expanding exchanges and contacts of security agencies. The narratives of Africa’s rising security partnership with non-Western nations such as China and Russia, amid continued neglect by the West, call for further research to examine the implications for overall African security on a regional basis.
Africa recognizes or calls for the removal of constraints affecting China's ability to promote a multi-polar world as opposed to a uni-polar world. African leaders note that power contestation by great powers must be regulated in a manner that guarantees stability. Some African leaders feel that current challenges to the security order by China should not come at the expense of African security concerns. Chinese leaders are called on to have a clearer understanding of Africa's material and security needs
Global Cultural Initiative (GCI)
The Global Civilization Initiative proposes common values for humanity, including peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom. It aims to foster dialogue among civilizations, address cultural issues, and promote mutual understanding while opposing confrontation and cultural supremacy. The Initiative recognizes the need for inclusive international governance to support economic development, maintain peace, and ensure cooperation among all civilizations. Accelerated exchanges and cooperation among civilizations are essential for a more just and reasonable international order. The Initiative emphasizes solidarity and cooperation between peoples and states.
The interactions between African civilizations and China date back to before the era of colonialism. The period between the 3rd century AD and the mid-1800s was a golden age of development for both African and Chinese civilizations. Employment of direct sea routes by Arab traders connected the interior regions of Africa with China, resulting in rich exchanges of culture, technology, and commodities. The sea routes from the East African coast toward the Asian continent were linked with the Spice Islands, India, and China. Many records show that ships departed from the ports of Africa towards China annually at a certain season.
African leaders view the Global Civilization Initiative as positive for Africa. They believe it will offer inspiration for Africa’s development and address global governance issues. African leaders recognize the potential challenges and difficulties posed by the Initiative but view it as an opportunity for international exchanges, especially between China and Africa. They emphasize the importance of dialogue among civilizations and maintaining cultural diversity. Most African leaders view the Initiative positively, believing it aligns with African values. They see the Initiative as a means to enhance artistic collaboration between Africa and China. One African leader points out the importance of fostering empathy to bridge cultural differences through mutual sharing.
By sharing similarities among different nations, cultures, or ethnic groups, it will be easier to identify common interests and areas for peaceful coexistence. Most African leaders appreciate China's efforts to enhance cooperation between China and Africa and value China's ongoing support and assistance to African development. Hence Africa and the Global South are in the position to grasp the full utopian promise of the GCI as envisioned by China.
Conclusion and feature prospects
Notwithstanding the skepticism of some African leaders and scholars about China’s three global initiatives, most leaders are optimistic about the positive impact these initiatives are having globally and on the African continent in particular. Concerns have been encountered regarding whether the less developed African countries are overly relying on China, and whether China is becoming a new imperial power in Africa. These are geared towards making sure that the continent benefits from the relationship with China. It is also clear from the rhetoric that many African leaders exhibit a preference for China’s development initiatives over similar measures from the west. It remains to be seen whether Africa will emerge as a winner of the clash between Western and Eastern development initiatives.
