African countries aim to broaden cooperation with China at upcoming FOCAC in Beijing

Political leaders from many African countries and representatives of relevant regional and international organizations will participate in this year’s Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that will be held in Beijing September 4-6, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has announced.

Leaders of FOCAC’s African members and representatives from all around the continent reportedly plan to discuss many topics at this year’s summit, including the promotion of trade with China and the boosting of cooperation in agriculture sector, the green transition and the new-energy sector.

Khalifa A. Sy Diop from the China-African People’s Friendship Association thinks that there are three important needs for Africa in the next 25 years, based on past cooperation: agro-ecological development, industrial development, and talent training. However, he said, “we must first review what we have done in the past and see where we have achieved our promised cooperation.”

One of the latest examples of cooperation between both sides was an Action Plan for China-Africa Digital Cooperation and Development, which was recently adopted by Beijing and 26 African countries, aiming to promote cooperation and development, strengthen partnerships, and boost innovation in the digital sector.

In the digital field, the growing cooperation has covered a wide range of industries from infrastructure to e-commerce, supported by rapidly developing technologies, according to African officials and business representatives who participated in a recent meeting in Beijing. The action plan includes the implementation of 10 digital transformation demonstration projects and the training of at least 1,000 professionals in the digital field.