How the unbreakable brotherhood between China and Africa was forged

Source: Beijing Daily

Although the haze of covid-19 has not yet dissipated, the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held as scheduled. China and Africa held pragmatic and efficient discussions on the theme of the conference and reached broad consensus, and the number of outcome documents adopted was the highest in the past, which fully reflected the high quality and high level of China-Africa cooperation.

In the midst of complex changes, China and Africa have always stood by each other and achieved mutual benefit and win-win results, becoming a sample worth observing and analyzing. In the 65 years since the opening of diplomatic relations, why are China-Africa relations good? Why is the friendship between China and Africa deep? The key lies in the fact that the two sides have created a time-honored spirit of friendship and cooperation - sincere friendship, equal treatment, mutual benefit and win-win, common development, upholding justice, defending justice, conforming to the times, openness and inclusiveness. This is a true portrayal of China and Africa's decades of solidarity and shoulder to shoulder struggle, and it is the source of strength for China-Africa friendly relations to carry forward the past and open up the future.

Needless to say, there are always some forces trying to sow discord between China and Africa; some people also ask, when China and Africa met at a young age, now that China is rich and strong, is China still a community of destiny?

The author believes that from the perspective of history, the community of common destiny between China and Africa actually has different levels: in version 1.0, we are mainly sympathetic to the enemy and the same disease. China is the world's largest developing country, Africa is the continent with the highest concentration of developing countries, and China and Africa are a community of natural destiny. In modern times, both China and Africa have been invaded by Western colonizers, and during the anti-imperialist, anti-hegemonic, and anti-colonial movements, they have stood in solidarity and supported each other in their struggle for national independence. In the "2.0 version", we mainly support each other to take a development path that suits their own national conditions, and are committed to safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries. In the "3.0 version", it is to jump out of the limitations of one time and one place and carry out the practice of China-Africa cooperation in building a community with a shared future for mankind, such as advocating the people-centered development concept; building a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect and win-win cooperation; advocating true multilateralism and common values of all mankind, and so on.

Chinese Communists must not only seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, but also aspire to seek progress for mankind and unity for the world. Despite the vicissitudes, China and Africa will not only continue to stand firmly together, but also find new points of convergence and growth points for cooperation and create a higher level of China-Africa community of common destiny. From a realistic point of view, 52 countries and the AU Commission have signed cooperation documents with China to jointly build the "Belt and Road", pragmatic cooperation is enabling Africa to go from being marginalized by globalization to localization of globalization, from political standing up to economic standing up, and truly decolonization; after the outbreak of the epidemic, China announced the cancellation of the intergovernmental interest-free loan debt of African least developed countries and lent $10 billion from the IMF special drawing rights to African countries; in January this year, the African Free Trade Area was officially launched, and the "nine projects" were officially launched. It has pointed out the direction for the transformation and upgrading of cooperation between the two sides after the epidemic, with special emphasis on shifting from government project-driven to private investment-driven, as well as increasing capacity building in digital innovation and green transformation... It can be seen that China-Africa cooperation is long-term, deeply rooted in cultivation, and is committed to making the world more balanced and beautiful, and China and Africa have always been practical partners in global development initiatives and forerunners in building the spiritual genealogy of a community with a shared future for mankind.

To observe China-Africa cooperation, we must not only see the development and changes of the two sides, but also understand the grand historical narrative behind this. Because of the extension of the field of cooperation and the thick planting of the spirit of cooperation, there are "good brothers, good friends and good partners who share hardships and hardships and are in the same boat through hardships and rains", and a "community of common destiny" has been constructed. We look forward to a new chapter in China-Africa cooperation, and we also expect more countries and regions to join the trend of the times of win-win cooperation for the world like China and Africa.

(The author is Vice Dean of Xi Jinping Institute of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Min University, Researcher of Contemporary Political Party Research Platform, and Professor of School of International Relations)