The 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held in Beijing from September 4 to 6.
Under the theme of “Jointly Advancing Modernization and Building a high-standard China-Africa Community with a shared future”, Chinese and African leaders renewed friendship, discussed cooperation and laid out a new blueprint for the common development of China-Africa relations.
Over the past 24 years since the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000, high-level interactions between China and Africa have become increasingly close, political mutual trust has been continuously deepened, and China-Africa relations have completed a three-level transformation of the “new type of partnership”, “new type of strategic partnership” and “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership”.
In terms of economic and trade cooperation, FOCAC has promoted the rapid growth of China-Africa trade.
China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for many years in a row, and Chinese companies have invested in Africa in infrastructure construction, energy development, manufacturing and other fields.
This has not only injected impetus into the economic development of African countries, but also provided opportunities for Chinese enterprises to participate in international competition, upgrade their technological level and management experience, and promoted the upgrading and internationalization of relevant industries in China.
In terms of political support, through close cooperation with African countries, China has gained more support and understanding in international affairs, which has enhanced China’s influence and voice on the international stage.
At the same time, China has always respected the sovereignty and choice of development path of African countries, and African countries have gained more international attention and resource support through cooperation with China.
Focac has also provided a platform for African countries to carry out cooperation with other countries and regions, and promoted their foreign exchanges and cooperation.
In terms of cultural exchanges, China has established 61 Confucius Institutes and 44 Confucius classrooms in Africa, and provided a total of about 120,000 government scholarships to African countries.
Many African students regard China as the number one destination for studying abroad.
At the same time, Africa’s unique culture and art are also attracting more and more Chinese people.
Such cultural exchanges have enhanced the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and African peoples, enriched the cultural connotations of both sides, and promoted the diversity and development of world cultures.
Looking ahead, with the continuous improvement and development of the FOCAC mechanism, China-Africa cooperation will be closer, more extensive and more fruitful.
The two sides will continue to work together to build an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future and make greater contribution to the development and prosperity of China and Africa as well as world peace and development.