I. Building an Even Stronger China-Africa Community of Shared Future
China and Africa enjoy a long-lasting friendship. Chairman Mao Zedong and other first-generation leaders of the People's Republic of China (PRC), along with African statesmen of the older generation, laid the foundations for China-Africa friendship. China has always offered respect, appreciation, and support for Africa, and the Chinese people have shared weal and woe and mutual assistance with African people, exploring a distinctive path to win-win cooperation. At the FOCAC Beijing Summit held in September 2018, the two sides decided to build an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future and lead China-Africa relations and cooperation into a new era. China and Africa have stood together in success and adversity, setting an example for building a global community of shared future.
1. The Principles of Sincerity, Real Results, Amity and Good Faith and the Principles of Pursuing the Greater Good and Shared Interests
The principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the principles of pursuing the greater good and shared interests epitomize China's policy to Africa. They represent the essence of Chinese culture and embody the historical traditions of China-Africa friendship – a role model for international cooperation with Africa. They are the overarching guiding principles for China in building up solidarity and cooperation with developing countries, including those in Africa.
"Sincerity" is how we treat our African friends. Nothing is more important than a true friend. China has always considered solidarity and cooperation with African countries to be an essential element of its foreign policy. This will never change, not even when China grows stronger and enjoys a higher international status. China is ready to reinforce mutual support with African countries on issues involving core interests and major concerns of either or both. China will continue its firm support for Africa's position on international and regional affairs, and uphold the common interests of developing countries. China will continue its support for African countries' efforts to resolve their continent's issues in their own way, and make a greater contribution to peace and security in Africa. China will continue its firm support for African countries' efforts to explore development paths suited to their national conditions. It also stands ready to increase exchanges on governance experience with African countries and boost common development and prosperity, by drawing on wisdom from the time-honored civilizations and experience of both sides.
"Real results" are what China aims to achieve in its cooperation with Africa. China is a champion of win-win cooperation and works to put the principle into action. China is committed to integrating its own development closely with Africa's development, and the Chinese people's interests with those of African peoples. By so doing, China sincerely hopes that African countries will grow stronger and that African life will get better. While pursuing its own development, China has extended support and assistance to its African friends to the limits of its capacity. Particularly in recent years, China has scaled up its assistance and cooperation with Africa. Whenever it makes a commitment, China will always honor it to the letter. It will continue to expand cooperation in investment and financing with Africa and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in agricultural and manufacturing sectors. By so doing, China will help African countries translate their strengths in resources into advantages in development and realize independent and sustainable development.
"Amity" is a principle China follows in strengthening China-Africa friendship. The peoples of China and Africa are destined to be good friends. Their hearts are bonded through dialogue and concrete actions. China-Africa friendship has its roots and lifeblood in the people, and the goal of China-Africa relations is to benefit the people. The two sides have long valued people-to-people exchanges, so that the Chinese people and African people know each other well and China-Africa friendship has grown on a solid social base. China-Africa friendship is forward-looking. To flourish, it needs continuous efforts by aspirational Chinese and African youth from one generation to another. The two sides should promote youth exchanges so that the friendship can maintain dynamism and vigor.
"Good faith" should be honored in solving problems arising from cooperation. Both China and Africa are at a stage of rapid development. Their mutual understanding should keep abreast of the times. China faces up squarely to any new problems in their relations, and is committed to properly addressing emerging problems in a spirit of mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
In terms of the principles of shared interests and the greater good, each is of vital importance, but more emphasis is given to the latter. In international affairs, China advocates political justice, mutual economic benefit, win-win cooperation, and common development. It upholds good faith, friendship, and integrity. Properly handling the relationship between shared interests and the greater good is an essential requirement of China-Africa relations in the new era. The greatest good in China-Africa relations is to closely combine Africa's independent and sustainable development with China's own development, and reject the zero-sum game and actions driven by a narrow pursuit of profit. The ultimate goal is to realize win-win cooperation.
2. Mutual Respect and Common Development
China-Africa cooperation is about mutual support between developing countries. Over the years, China has formed a distinctive approach to win-win cooperation with Africa. The approach is in line with the traditional Chinese philosophy, "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you." It also corresponds to the fundamental interests of African countries and the basic norms of international relations. It is a hallmark of China-Africa solidarity and cooperation and can serve as a useful reference for international cooperation with Africa.
China's approach involves upholding four principles:
– Upholding sincerity, friendship and equality. The Chinese people have worked together with African people in pursuit of a shared future. China respects, appreciates and supports Africa.
– Upholding shared interests and the greater good, with greater emphasis on the latter. In its cooperation with Africa, China applies the principles of giving more and taking less, giving before taking, and giving without asking for something in return. It welcomes African countries aboard the express train of China's development with open arms.
– Upholding a people-oriented approach in pursuing practical cooperation with efficiency. In its cooperation with Africa, China gives top priority to the interests and wellbeing of the peoples of China and Africa, and works to their benefit. China is committed to fully honoring the promises it has made to its African friends.
– Upholding openness and inclusiveness. China stands ready to work with other international partners to support Africa in pursuing peace and development. It welcomes and supports all initiatives that further Africa's interests.
In developing relations with Africa, there are five lines that China will not cross: no interference in African countries' choice of a development path that fits their national conditions; no interference in African countries' internal affairs; no imposition of its will on African countries; no attachment of political strings to assistance to Africa; and no pursuit of selfish political gains through investment and financing cooperation with Africa.
3. The Lofty Goal of Building a Community of Shared Future
At the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018, China and Africa reached a strategic agreement to build a China-Africa community of shared future characterized by joint responsibility, win-win cooperation, happiness for all, cultural prosperity, common security, and harmony between humanity and nature. This is a fundamental program of action, and a lofty goal for the two sides. It has charted the course for China-Africa cooperation in the new era.
– In assuming joint responsibility, the two sides will reinforce mutual understanding and support on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns, and boost coordination on major international and regional issues. These efforts will enable the two sides to uphold the common interests of China and Africa as well as other developing countries.
– In pursuing win-win cooperation, China and Africa will seize the opportunity created by the complementarity between their respective development strategies and the major opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative. This will allow them to expand areas of cooperation and unlock new cooperation potential.
– In delivering happiness for all and growing China-Africa relations, the clear goal of the two sides is to make people's lives better. The cooperation between the two sides must deliver real benefit to the people in both China and African countries.
– In pursuing cultural prosperity, China and Africa will work to strengthen the bond between their peoples by increasing exchanges, mutual learning and harmonious co-existence between the civilizations of the two sides, invigorating their civilizations and cultures, enriching their artistic creations, and providing richer cultural nourishment.
– In seeking common security, China is ready to play a constructive role, and will support African countries in strengthening their independent capacity for safeguarding stability and peace. China firmly supports African countries and the African Union (AU), as well as other regional organizations in Africa, in their efforts to solve African issues in African ways.
– In promoting harmony between humanity and nature, China will strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Africa on climate change, clean energy, prevention and control of desertification and soil erosion, protection of wildlife, and other areas of ecological and environmental sensitivity. Through their combined efforts, the two sides will make China and Africa beautiful places for people to live in harmony with nature.
Ultimately, it is for the Chinese and African people to judge the results of China-Africa cooperation. China's aim in developing cooperation with Africa will always be to promote the fundamental interests of the Chinese and African people. It will never make containment of any third country an aim of its policy in Africa.
4. An Exemplary Model for World Development and Cooperation
When China-Africa cooperation thrives, South-South cooperation will flourish. When China and Africa are fully developed, the world will be a better place. Cooperation in the new era is the sure way for China and Africa to realize common development. It will lay more solid foundations for building an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future, and build up strong momentum for the rise of developing countries as a whole, and for more balanced international relations.
Under the combined impact of the pandemic, a scale of change unseen in a century, and a sharp conflict between multilateralism and unilateralism, the global governance system is facing profound and unprecedented challenges. China sees Africa as a broad stage for international cooperation rather than an arena for competition among major countries. China-Africa cooperation has never been a case of talk and no action. It is a case of bringing tangible benefits to people in China and Africa, and creating more favorable conditions for others in the international community to conduct cooperation with Africa. In the new era, through solidarity and cooperation, the peoples of China and Africa will set an example in increasing the wellbeing of humanity, creating a new type of international relations, and building a global community of shared future.
