By Guo Jiping, The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is ongoing in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the summit on September 5 and deliver a keynote speech.
In his speech, Xi will elaborate on the new ideas and propositions on building a high-level community with a shared future between China and Africa, and announce new actions and measures for practical cooperation with Africa.
At the FOCAC summit, China and Africa will announce a new positioning of China-Africa relations and a series of major measures for jointly advancing modernization, thereby drawing a new blueprint for China-Africa relations.
At every critical juncture, the two sides have employed far-sighted vision and always succeeded in finding new common ground and growth drivers. China and Africa have both reached critical stages in their respective development, which presents new historical opportunities for cooperation between the two sides.
Today’s China is marching forward to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization.
The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held, sounding a clarion call of the times to open up broad prospects for the Chinese modernization through further deepening reform. The modernization China is pursuing is not for China alone, but for all developing countries through their joint efforts.
Africa is moving at an accelerated speed toward the bright prospects envisioned in Agenda 2063, and making all-out efforts to build a new Africa that enjoys peace, unity, prosperity and strength. African countries are experiencing a new awakening and exploring development paths suited to their national conditions, with a firmer determination to keep their future firmly in their own hands. Africa, exploring the path to modernization in an African way, is a continent full of hope.
At a new starting point, the advantages of complementarity between China and Africa have become more obvious and their cooperation is marked by higher quality, greater impact, and brighter prospects.
On the path to modernization, China has all along been a firm supporter, and walking side by side with Africa.
China supports Africa in growing its manufacturing sector and realizing economic diversification; China has prioritized agricultural development and food security in its cooperation with African countries; China and Africa are jointly cultivating talents to support modernization with talent dividend; China is enhancing its economic and trade cooperation with Africa through high-level opening up to strengthen complementary advantages.
China is committed to integrating its own development closely with Africa’s development, to jointly accumulate momentum for modernization.
While joining hands to advance modernization, China and Africa are working together to promote a just and equitable international order, safeguard a peaceful and secure global environment, and build an open and inclusive world economy, so as to create a sound environment for realizing our respective development visions, and gather strength for advancing modernization of the world and building a better future for humanity.
As a new model for human advancement, Chinese modernization has shattered the myth that modernization equals Westernization. African countries attach great importance to drawing development insights from the successful practices of Chinese modernization and actively exploring development paths suited to their own national conditions.
On the path toward modernization, China and Africa draw wisdom from their respective ancient civilizations and development practices, strengthen the exchange of experience in governance, and deepen mutual learning of civilizations, which will promote their common development and prosperity.
Currently, African countries are more and more willing to strengthen the exchange of experience in governance with China. In response to the eager demands from African countries, China follows the principle of “showing people how to fish than just giving them fish.” It has hosted the Seminar on Chinese Modernization and African Development, shared with Africa its experience in poverty alleviation, launched seminars on Juncao industry for officials from English-speaking countries in Africa, and offered seminars on sustainable development for African officials.
The theme of the 2024 Summit of the FOCAC – Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future, is in line with the trend of the times and the aspiration of the people.
Taking the summit as an opportunity, China and Africa will remain fellow passengers and good partners on the path to modernization, working together to advance modernization and build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
China and Africa will work more closely to advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, making greater contributions to advancing modernization of the world and building a community with a shared future for mankind.
