China-Africa forum has set many worthy targets -- and achieved them

ZHANG CHENGLIANG / CHINA DAILY

Five months ago the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation meeting in Beijing adopted a declaration and an action plan laying out the path for China-Africa cooperation over the next three years.

Since the forum was established a little more than 12 years ago it has flourished, with the help of five successful ministerial summits, the latest being the one in Beijing in July.

The meetings, held every three years, have become an important tool in cultivating China-Africa cooperation and development. The forum has enabled China-Africa relations to prosper rapidly and comprehensively over the past decade, the period of the fastest growth since 1949.

Since 2002 China and Africa have achieved much in promoting political equality and mutual trust, economic cooperation, cultural exchanges and learning, improved security, consultation and closer cooperation on international affairs.

Frequent high-level visits and mutual support on important international issues and bilateral matters have strengthened the bond of trust.

President Hu Jintao has been to Africa six times, and Xi Jinping, the newly elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, attended a symposium in South Africa in November 2010 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the forum's establishment

Trade between China and Africa has grown at an average of 35 percent in the past decade, leaping from $10 billion in 2000 to $160 billion last year. Indeed, since 2009 China has surpassed the US as Africa's largest trading partner. In addition, Africa has rapidly developed into China's second-largest overseas market for project contracts and the fourth-largest overseas destination for investment.

At the China-Africa cooperation roundtable conference in November, Sun Guangxiang, vice-minister of commerce, said trade between the two was expected to exceed $200 billion this year. In April China's direct investment in Africa was valued at $15.3 billion; 10 years ago the figure was $500 million.

In the past decade nearly 1 million Chinese people have come to Africa and set up more than 2,000 enterprises. That investment, in about 50 African countries, is in many spheres, including trade, production and processing, resource development, transport and agriculture. The number of Africans doing business in China is also rising. Tens of thousands of Africans live in Guangzhou alone, and the number has increased rapidly in recent years.

At the same time, cultural and educational exchanges have been growing. Confucius institutes have mushroomed across Africa, as has the number of African students and various kinds of human resources training classes.

In recent years China has taken part in United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, more than 3,000 peacekeepers having been sent to participate in 12 operations, and more than 1,100 soldiers are active in eight African peacekeeping districts at present.

China and Africa have also strengthened cooperation on fighting infectious diseases, avian flu and transnational crime, and have worked closely in non-traditional security fields.

Ten years of rapid development of Sino-African relations are inseparable from the forum's down-to-earth, pragmatic philosophy. Since it was founded, in the spirit of doing tangible things, reducing poverty, and promoting development, it has not indulged in vague policy statements but has taken real, specific measures on debt relief, substantially increased aid to the continent, and promoted investment and large-scale expansion of tariff-free imports into Africa.

The forum also aims to help Africa solve problems relating to food security, and issues central to people's lives, and to set out in three-year tranches specific targets on agricultural cooperation, human resources training, healthcare and education cooperation.

China, as the biggest developing country, and as a country that takes its international obligations very seriously, has been keen to be absolutely specific when it comes to its African development projects, be it in aims, technical and operational detail or quantative indicators. Being specific makes it easier to ensure that programs are carried out effectively, and increases the likelihood of goals being achieved.

In fact, all the goals proposed at each forum over the past 12 years have been achieved on time or ahead of schedule. This illustrates that talk about African development has been matched by needs, and that there is a real collective dialogue between China that speaks very well of China's African diplomacy.

The meeting in Beijing in July provided a new historical starting point, an important meeting to promote the continuous development of China-Africa cooperation. President Hu announced China's new initiatives in Africa over the next three years, including: investment, financial assistance, funding to improve people's lives, promotion of African integration, people-to-people exchanges, peace and security.

These new initiatives involve a wider area with greater intensity and focus on the lives of Africans, including their employment, as well as participating in building Africa's regional infrastructure.

In investment and financing, China has promised to lend African countries $20 billion, doubling the amount pledged in 2009. Such financial support will encourage Chinese companies to join African businesses in infrastructure projects and in agriculture, manufacturing and other key areas.

Not only will China's aid improve the lives of Africans, but friendship projects will also strengthen communication and understanding between the Chinese and African peoples. It will also be a powerful antidote to cynical Western minds that see in China's African presence only the grabbing hands of a new colonialism. Improved African lives can only be positive for China-Africa cooperation and help it prosper even more.

Inter-regional infrastructure construction in Africa also has an important role to play. It gives Chinese enterprises greater scope in infrastructure construction, and at the same time sets up inter-regional infrastructure networks to promote the continent's integration.

Without peace and security African development will be short-lived and fragile. Having experienced numerous wars and conflicts, African countries understand this. So promoting peace in African benefits everyone. The civil war in Libya last year forced 35,000 Chinese workers to evacuate, and in the conflict in Sudan, Chinese employees were killed or kidnapped.

The ministerial meeting in July gave fresh momentum to Sino-African relations. The forum needs to stay abreast of the times, consolidate its good work and continue to innovate.

In doing so it can set a shining example for the world.

The author is a researcher at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.