The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, held in Beijing, was the grandest summit in China during the past few years, with 53 African Heads of State and Governments, African and Chinese corporate business executives and entrepreneurs. China’s increasing influence on the continent, in terms of wedging its extensive economic power and widened trade links, it was designed to show its strategic implications, and largely as part of China’s high-stakes rivalry with the United States for influence in Africa.
China’s leader Xi Jinping playing the lavish host to leaders from Africa early September 2024 — burnishing its economic power, and speeches and discussions without anti-Western sentiments and without disparaging rhetorics. China declared summit theme was titled: “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.”
In his 10-minute speech, China’s leader Xi Jinping outlined 10 action areas for cooperation over the coming three years, including infrastructure connectivity, trade, security and green development – an area where Beijing is widely seen as pushing to enhance its exports of green technology.
At the summit, Chinese leader promised to create one million employment places for Africans, China would flash out nearly $51 billion over the next three years, including $30 billion in credit lines, $10 billion in investment by Chinese enterprises. In Dakar, Senegal, China offered $30 billion, lower than the $60 billion pledged previously in 2015 to 2018. Undoubtedly, China is the world’s leader in........