30 Nov 2015

GABORONE - South Africa is scheduled to host the Forum on China-Africa (FOCAC), which Chinese president, Mr Xi Jinping will attend.

This would be the first FOCAC on African soil, revealed Chinese ambassador to Botswana, Mr Zheng Zhuqiang in an interview.

 Below is the insightful dialogue on FOCAC.

1. How do you view the significance of the Johannesburg summit? What outcomes can we expect from this summit?

 Currently, African countries have the common desire to accelerate industrialization and agricultural modernization in a bid to realize economic independence and self-reliant, sustainable development. The Agenda 2063 and its first Ten Year Plan adopted at this year’s AU Summit have prioritized industrialization and sustainable development, ushering Africa into a new stage of development. 

Meanwhile China has developed a large number of competitive industries, accumulated strong production capacities and is now pushing forward the cooperation of industrial capacity with other countries. This puts the two sides in a better position to work together to achieve win-win development through industrial capacity cooperation and complementarity of strengths. Convened against such a background, the FOCAC Summit will have great and far-reaching significance for boosting comprehensive transformation and upgrading of China-Africa relations and promoting more balanced, inclusive and sustainable development of the world.

 China and Africa will seize this rare historical opportunity of the summit, fully leverage their advantages of political mutual trust and economic complementarity and step up mutually beneficial cooperation in the five priority areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, health, people-to-people exchanges and peace and security. The summit will adopt “Declaration of the Johannesburg Summit” and “The Johannesburg Summit Action Plan”. We believe that this summit, through its new plans, new blueprint and new momentum for China-Africa cooperation, will send to the rest of the world a strong message of China and Africa working together for win-win cooperation and common development and usher in a new prospect of development to people in China, Africa and beyond.

 

 2. You just mentioned “China-Africa industrial capacity cooperation”. How can China and Africa benefit from this cooperation strategy?

 

 I notice that recently industrial capacity cooperation has become a catchword in China-Africa cooperation. Many African countries are eager to embrace the historic opportunity brought about by China’s economic transformation and upgrading, and become the first places to host Chinese investors, so as to add fuel to their own industrialization strategies. There are mutual needs and complementarities between China and Africa to carry out industrial capacity cooperation.

 I believe that industrial capacity cooperation between China and Africa meets the urgent need for Africa to realize independent and sustainable development, meets the natural trend of China’s economic transformation and upgrading, and meets the objective need to safeguard world peace and prosperity. It will surely help China and Africa to achieve win-win cooperation for common development, make the world more balanced, stable and prosperous, and benefit the peoples of China, Africa and around the world.

 

 3. As we all know, FOCAC has proven to be an important platform for collective dialogue between China and African countries. How do you see the role of FOCAC in promoting China-Africa relations?

 

 Under the joint initiative of China and Africa, FOCAC was formally established in October 2000 with the purposes of further strengthening friendly cooperation between China and African countries under the new circumstances, jointly meeting the challenges of economic globalization and seeking common development. In short, the objectives of FOCAC are equal consultation, enhancing understanding, expanding consensus, strengthening friendship and promoting cooperation between China and Africa.

 Since the inception of FOCAC 15 years ago, China and Africa have had fruitful cooperation across the board. Political mutual trust has grown significantly. The two sides understand and support each other on matters involving each other’s core interests and major concerns, thus upholding the common interests of China, Africa and the developing world. Our practical cooperation has progressed in leaps and bounds, delivering tangible benefits to both the Chinese and African people. Statistics show that in 2014, trade between China and Africa exceeded US$220 billion and China’s investment stock in Africa surpassed US$30 billion, an increase of 22 and 60 times respectively over the figures in 2000 when FOCAC was just established. Moreover, the share of China-Africa trade in Africa’s total foreign trade has increased from 3.82% to 20.5%.

 What is particularly noteworthy is China’s commitment to helping Africa break the two development bottlenecks of underdeveloped infrastructure and lack of human resources. The efforts have already made a big difference. By June 2015, over 3,800 kilometers of railways and 4,334 kilometers of roads have been either built or under construction in Africa with Chinese financing. More than 200 schools of various kinds have been established with Chinese assistance or financing. The Chinese government provides Africa with more than 7,000 government scholarships each year and holds over 100 multilateral and bilateral technical and management training programs and senior officials workshops for Africa each year.

 FOCAC has become a key platform for collective dialogue between China and African countries and an effective mechanism for enhanced practical cooperation. As such, FOCAC is very much welcomed by all parties and has indeed become a banner for promoting China-Africa unity and cooperation and leading international cooperation on Africa.

 

 4. Speaking of China-Botswana relationship, this year also marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between our two countries. How do you see today’s China-Botswana relations under the framework of FOCAC, and what can China-Botswana relationship benefit more from FOCAC?

 

The friendship between China and Botswana is well established and long lasting. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1975, especially after the set-up of FOCAC in 2000, our bilateral exchanges and cooperation in all areas have been improved greatly thanks to the effective implementation of FOCAC initiatives by both sides.

 For the past 15 years, our two countries have enjoyed frequent high level exchanges. Former Botswana President Mogae attended the first FOCAC summit in Beijing in 2006, and Botswana has attended all the 5 previous FOCAC conferences. Our bilateral economic and trade cooperation have been pushed forward greatly under the framework of FOCAC. The bilateral trade volume was US$11 million back in 2000, while this number has increase almost 30 times to around US$300 million in 2014, making China one of the largest trading partners of Botswana and the second largest consumer of Botswana’s diamonds.

 Under the guideline of FOCAC, China has been providing selfless assistance to Botswana, out of which 32 projects have been implemented. In infrastructure area, China has helped to renovate 587-kilometer-long railway, build 200-kilometer-long Letlhakeng-Kang road, 717 residential houses and Gaborone Multi-purpose Youth Center, etc.

In education area, China has donated and built two primary schools and is willing to donate two more in the coming years. China has provided more than 550 scholarships and 1000 short-term training opportunities to support Botswana’s human resources development. China also established Confucius Institute at University of Botswana (CIUB) in 2009, which so far attracted more than 6000 ordinary Botswana people to learn Chinese language and culture. In health area, China has been continuously sending medical teams to Botswana since 1981.

To date, China has altogether sent 418 medical experts to Botswana and treated more than 3 million Botswana patients. China also launched 2 “Brightness Action” and helped hundreds of cataract patients to regain their sights. In wildlife protection area, China donated RMB10 million to support Botswana’s wildlife protection cause.

 I have every confidence in the future growth of China-Botswana relations. Richly endowed in natural resources and committed to its strategy of economic diversity and industrialization, Botswana enjoys huge development potential. As for China, thanks to its rapid economic growth for more than three decades, it boasts comparative advantages in capital, technology, business and personnel.

China and Botswana meet each others’ demand, enjoy respective competitive edges and provide opportunities to each other. This means there is large potential for our cooperation.

As I mentioned earlier, the coming Johannesburg summit of FOCAC will provide a historical and precious opportunity for China and African countries including Botswana, to further strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of economic, trade, infrastructure, culture, education, health, among others, thus bringing more tangible benefits to our peoples. I sincerely hope that our two countries could make concerted efforts to fully implement the new FOCAC action plans, promote a comprehensive upgrading of our friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation and push China-Botswana relationship to a higher level.

 

 5. Currently, China is encountered with slowdown in economic growth and some people ask whether Africa can still count on China’s development to bolster Africa’s development. What’s your comment on this? What are the prospects of China-Africa cooperation?

 

 Recently, the Chinese economy is shifting from a high-speed growth to a medium-high growth of better quality, or “rebalancing”. This is not only because of the sluggish recovery of the world economy as a whole, but also a result of China’s proactive management to promote structural reform, lower the speed of growth and improve the quality of growth. We define this as the “new normal” of the Chinese economy. The Chinese economy registered a 7% growth in the first half of this year. Such performance is still one of the best among the world’s major economies. The long-term prospects of the Chinese economy remain robust and sound.

 China and Africa enjoy a profound and long-term friendship and are bound by this community of shared future and interests. In the 1960s and 1970s, the two sides forged profound friendship in the fight for national independence and liberation.

Today, nothing should stop the two sides from coming together to pursue common development. Africa is blessed with abundant natural and human resources and enjoys huge market and development potential. The Agenda 2063 and its first Ten Year Plan adopted at this year’s AU Summit have prioritized industrialization and sustainable development, ushering Africa into a new stage of development.

As for China, with more than three decades of fast growth, it now has rich experience, mature technology, cost-effective equipment and sufficient capital in the field of industrialization. More importantly, China has the strong political will to support Africa in achieving economic independence and self-reliant sustainable development. China and Africa will usher in a new phase of win-win cooperation and common development.

 

 6. Some people criticize China by saying that Chinese involvement in Africa is similar to the colonial policy of the developed countries in the past. What’s your comment on this?

 

The criticism is absolutely not true. In recent years, with the expansion of economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa, the hat of “New Colonialism” sometimes was added to China’s head by some people, which is totally inconsistent with the facts and logic. 

The development of China-Africa relations over the years has proved that such assertions are completely nonsense. African countries will not accept such a point of view because China-Africa cooperation brings them practical benefits. 

The history has proved that China developed equal and friendly relations with African countries and developed economic and trade relations with them in accordance with the international conventions and economic rules on the market.

We purchase African resources at the international market price and through business negotiations. Due to the huge demand on the Chinese market, the prices of African resources on the international market have increased and African countries have reaped in more benefits. In comparison, how can we find any connection between China and colonialism?

Therefore, the label of colonialism, new or old, will never stick on China. Ends