By He Yin
Let me reaffirm China’s commitment to its longstanding friendship with Africa. No matter how
the international landscape may evolve, China shall never waver in its determination to pursue
greater solidarity and cooperation with Africa."
Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks made in his speech delivered at the Extraordinary China-
Africa Summit On Solidarity Against COVID-19 indicated the firm resolve of China and Africa to
jointly combat the novel coronavirus pneumonia, and charted the course for the two sides'
pragmatic cooperation in the future.
International public opinion holds that the summit has built a practical platform for China and
Africa to learn each other's demands, as well as make and implement a task list.
Huge impacts have been exerted on Africa's economic and social development by the pandemic.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economy in sub-Saharan Africa is
expected to shrink by 1.6 percent this year. The pandemic will swipe away the positive progress
achieved by the region, and even bring huge pressure on the economic growth of the region in the
years to come. A World Bank report predicted that that overall sub-Saharan Africa's economy will
be between 2.1% and 5.1% smaller by the end of the year, triggering the first recession in the
region over the past 25 years.
Undoubtedly, African countries are facing double pressure, from both the pandemic and economy.
To support them in pandemic response will help them boost economic and social development,
while to support them in economic and social development will help them better fight the virus. It
is urgent to defeat COVID-19, as promoting economic and social development remains a
fundamental approach to improve livelihood and well-being for the people.
"To cushion the impact of COVID-19, it is important to strengthen Belt and Road cooperation and
accelerate the follow-ups to the FOCAC (Forum on China–Africa Cooperation) Beijing Summit.
Greater priority needs to be given to cooperation on public health, economic reopening, and
people’s livelihood." What Xi said at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit On Solidarity
Against COVID-19 indicated China's unswerving determination to advance China-Africa
cooperation.
For those African countries that are hardest hit by the coronavirus and are under heavy financial
stress, China will work with the global community to give them greater support, as it helps
African countries enhance public health spending to better cope with the pandemic at the critical
moment, and is conducive to Africa's long-term and sustainable development. "China's solidarity
with Africa is a vital part of this effort," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Former
South African diplomat Gert Grobler also pointed out that China has played the role of a
responsible major country with its concrete actions.
Extending sympathy to and helping each other, China and Africa have embarked on a distinctive
path of win-win cooperation.
China has been Africa's largest trading partner in the past 10 years, as well as the biggest financier
of the continent's infrastructure. China-built industrial parks, factories, schools and hospitals are
seen everywhere in Africa, and the country has helped the continent construct over 10,000
kilometers of roads, 6,000 kilometers of railways and over 100 airports, ports, and power stations.
China-Africa cooperation has greatly promoted Africa's development. To help the continent get rid
of the pandemic as soon as possible, China supports Africa in its effort to develop the African
Continental Free Trade Area and to enhance connectivity and strengthen industrial and supply
chains. China will explore broader cooperation with Africa in such new business forms as digital
economy, smart city, clean energy, and 5G to boost Africa’s development and revitalization.
These efforts for China-Africa cooperation will lay a solid foundation for Africa's development in
the post-pandemic era, and further indicate Xi's remarks made at the FOCAC Johannesburg
Summit five years ago: "Friendship and justice, which defines China-Africa relations, require us
to facilitate Africa’s development endeavor with China’s development and ultimately deliver win-
win progress and common development through mutually beneficial cooperation."
The pandemic won't impede the progress of China-Africa solidarity and cooperation. This year
marks the 20th anniversary of the FOCAC, as well as a new starting point for China-Africa joint
development. All the ten cooperation plans with Africa raised by China at the FOCAC
Johannesburg Summit have been implemented, and significant progress has been achieved
regarding the eight major initiatives in close collaboration with African countries raised by China
at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the FOCAC.
The urgent task remains that China and Africa seize the major opportunities presented by the Belt
and Road Initiative, and see to it that the Belt and Road Initiative and the AU Agenda 2063, the
UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the development programs of African
countries better complement each other, so as to expand areas of cooperation, unlock new
cooperation potential, consolidate their traditional areas of cooperation, and foster new highlights
of cooperation in the new economy.
Both parties agreed to chart the course for China-Africa cooperation in a post-COVID-19 era, and
work together to on the 2021 FOCAC calendar, as they promised in the Joint Statement of the
Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19.
The logo of FOCAC indicates peace and development, as well as vitality and prosperity. It is a
vivid description of China-Africa friendship and cooperation. No matter how the international
landscape may evolve, China shall never waver in its determination to pursue greater solidarity
and cooperation, peace and development, and vitality and prosperity with Africa.
The Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 has made a new
blueprint for China-Africa cooperation and injected new energy into Africa's economic revival,
signaling a bright future for the China-Africa community with a shared future that the two sides
have been striving for.
