The Chinese government plans to offer $50.6 billion in financial aid over the next three years to African nations to implement the 10 key initiatives agreed upon during the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held recently in China, according to Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa.
During a press briefing at his residence in Accra on Wednesday, September 12, 2024, he discussed the outcomes of the FOCAC summit.
Defa stated that President Xi Jinping informed the 53 African leaders who participated in the forum that $29.5 billion of the support would be in the form of credit lines, $11.3 billion in various types of assistance, and at least $9.8 billion would come through investments by Chinese companies in Africa.
Additionally, President Jinping said China would back Africa’s issuance of panda bonds within China to foster tangible cooperation across various sectors.
The summit, considered the largest diplomatic engagement between China and Africa, aims to strengthen and deepen the partnership between the two regions.
It seeks to deliver significant social and economic benefits to the people of both Africa and China.
China is looking to build on its longstanding partnership with Africa, which is grounded in mutual respect and shared goals for prosperity.
Ambassador Defa further noted that President Jinping reaffirmed his commitment to deepening ties with Ghana, aiming to boost political trust and foster collaboration in diverse sectors.
He added that China is eager to broaden its cooperation with Ghana, particularly in agriculture, fisheries, energy, mineral resources, and infrastructure, while expressing hopes that Ghana will continue to provide favorable conditions for Chinese businesses and citizens.
Defa also mentioned that President Jinping highlighted the FOCAC Beijing Summit’s role in summarizing the historical experiences of China-Africa relations and laying out a roadmap for joint modernization efforts, leading the way for collaboration within the Global South.
The 10 cooperation initiatives between China and Africa include a focus on cultural exchange, with plans to create a platform for sharing governance experiences, establish a China-Africa knowledge network for development, and invite 1,000 African political party members to China to enhance dialogue.
The second major initiative is the Partnership Action for Trade Prosperity, which includes opening up China’s market further and offering zero-tariff treatment to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that have diplomatic ties with China, transforming China’s vast market into a significant opportunity for Africa.
Additionally, the Partnership Action for Industrial Chain Cooperation, aimed at pushing forward the Pilot Zone for In-depth China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation, launching an “African SMEs empowerment programme”, and jointly building a digital technology cooperation centre.
The fourth action is the Partnership Action for Connectivity, including putting in place a China-Africa network featuring land-sea links and coordinated development for the benefit of trans-regional development in Africa.
The Partnership Action for Development Cooperation, aimed to implement 1,000 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects to deliver more fruits of development to African people.
Besides, the Partnership Action for Health, under which China would be sending 2,000 medical personnel to Africa to support the development of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Furthermore, the Partnership Action for Agriculture and Livelihoods is another action under the partnership, in which China would be providing Africa with emergency food assistance, building standardised agriculture demonstration areas, and creating at least one million jobs for Africa.