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China and Africa united by a common destiny

(Brand South Africa)  Chichi Maponya  2016-03-02 23:21


Chichi Maponya Chairperson of Brand SA

This article was written by Chichi Maponya Ceo of the Maponya group and Chairperson of Brand South Africa
 
History tells us that Africa’s relations with China go way back to the Ming Dynasty.  However, more recently, formal political relations were established in 1949 which coincided with Africa claiming its independence from its colonisers.  China and Africa have solid relations with each having a common vision for a world that is prosperous and developed and where both can play a meaningful role in global political and economic governance.

In the 21 century, relations between Africa and China have become deeper and more formal through the China-Africa Forum for Cooperation. The first Summit was hosted by China in 2006, and in 2015, South Africa has hosted the second Summit in Johannesburg.

The African Union Commission Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has described our relations succinctly when she said, “the relationship between ourselves and China is founded on four basic principles: treating each other sincerely and equally; consolidating solidarity and mutual trust; jointly pursuing inclusive development; and promoting inventive practical cooperation between our countries.”

During FOCAC, relations between China and Africa were further strengthened with the adoption of the Declaration of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation. Most importantly FOCAC ended with the finalisation of a Strategic Vision for Win-win Cooperation.

The Declaration is based on the five major pillars that characterise relations between Africa and China: political equality and mutual trust, win-win economic cooperation, mutually enriching cultural exchanges, mutual assistance in security, and solidarity and coordination in international affairs.  Both sides further agreed to leverage their social and political capital – enhanced by their combined population of 2.3 billion people – to advocate for the reformation of the global political and economic governance architecture.

To achieve this successfully however, African countries and China must have the required levels of development of their own economies.  The implementation of the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation Johannesburg Action Plan 2016-2018 will go a long way towards ensuring growth and development of African countries with the support of China.

The Action Plan includes targeted cooperation plans over the next three years in the areas of industrialisation, agricultural modernisation, infrastructure construction, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.  The scope of the increased co-operation is included hereunder:

China-Africa Industrialisation Plan: China will build or upgrade a number of industrial parks and set up regional vocational education centres and schools for capacity building. China will also train 200 000 technical personnel and provide 40 000 training opportunities for Africans in China.

China-Africa Agriculture Modernisation: China will transfer readily applicable technologies to Africa and will encourage Chinese enterprises to engage in large-scale farming, animal husbandry as well as grain storage and processing in Africa to create jobs.

China-Africa Infrastructure Plan: China will pursue mutually beneficial co-operation in infrastructure planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, particularly in the sectors of railway, road, regional aviation, ports, electricity and telecommunications. China will also support the establishment of five transportation universities in Africa.

China-Africa Green Development Plan: China will increase capacity for green, low-carbon and sustainable development in Africa which will include support in launching 100 projects to develop clean energy, protect wildlife and build smart cities.

China-Africa Trade and Investment Facilitation Plan: China will undertake 50 trade programmes to improve Africa’s capacity for internal and external trade and investment and will negotiate free trade agreements with countries and regional organisations and increase the import of African products.

China-Africa Poverty Reduction Plan: China will cancel outstanding debt in the form of zero-interest loans borrowed by least developed countries in Africa that mature at the end of 2015.

China-Africa Public Health Plan:
China will support the building of the African centre for disease control and increase co-operation between 20 Chinese and African hospitals.

China-Africa Cultural and People-People Exchange: China will build five cultural centres in Africa and provide satellite reception to 10 000 African villages. China will also sponsor 2 000 educational opportunities with diplomas/degrees and 30 000 government scholarships.

China-Africa Peace and Security Plan: China will provide grants worth US$60 million (R865.64m) to support the building and operation of the African Standby Force and the African capacity for the immediate response to crisis.

China will provide additional funding support to the implementation of the above plans: US$5bn of grant and zero-interest loans, US$35bn of loans of concessional nature on more favourable terms and export credit line, an increase of US$5bn to the China-Africa Development Fund and the Special Loan for the development of African small and medium-sized enterprises, and the China-Africa Fund for Production Capacity Co-operation with the initial contribution of US$10bn.

The implementation of these agreements will see the continent moving towards the vision of a prosperous, developed and integrated Africa as envisaged by Agenda 2063.

Ahead of the FOCAC Summit, President Zuma hosted President Xi Jinping on a State Visit.  The interactions between the South African and Chinese delegations concluded with the signing of 26 agreements.  As with Agenda 2063, the implementation of these agreements will see South Africa make strides towards the growth and development of its economy.  This will have a direct impact on our socio-economic development.

Some of the key agreements include:

MoU on Jointly Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
Both South Africa and China will promote the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road).

Agreement between the Department of Environmental Affairs and the NDRC on Strengthening Cooperation in the Oceans Economy
This agreement aims to promote cooperation on the Oceans Economy between the two countries and related organisations and enterprises. This agreement is directly aligned to South Africa’s Operation Phakisa.

Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Health and Medical Sciences between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa
The MoU in Health and Medical Sciences will expand exchanges in the fields of public health, health care delivery systems and biomedical sciences, as well as establish regular cooperation between health institutions.

MoU on Cooperation and Development on Science Parks
The MoU on Science Park Cooperation will promote cooperation in business incubation, high-end skills development and ICT research and development investment.

Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Public Enterprises, Republic of South Africa, and the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, The People’s Republic of China
This MOU will facilitate the strengthening cooperation in terms of infrastructure construction projects; information communications, as well as co-operation between Chinese and South African energy related companies.

Action Plan on Cooperation in Human Resource Development between the Department of Higher Education and Training of the Republic of South Africa and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China
Two thousand training opportunities will be offered to South Africa for the period 2015-2020.

Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Co-Operation entered into between Eskom and State Corporation Of China
This MOU will facilitate cooperation in the field of energy and will also enable the pursuit of commercial opportunities and exchange information on projects in geographic regions of mutual interest in the fields of transmission and distribution projects; renewable energy projects, off-grid rural electrification programmes.

Loan Agreement between the China Development Bank Corporation and Eskom
Eskom and the China Development Bank will conclude a loan agreement to facilitate-South Africa-China investment and trade cooperation and to further support Eskom’s infrastructure construction. The loan facility is to the value of USD 500,000,000.

Framework Cooperation Agreement between the China Export Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) and Transnet
Sinosure will provide insurance support to Transnet up to a total amount of USD 2.5 billion to support procurement by Transnet of mechanical and electrical products, whole-set equipment from Chinese enterprises, projects contracted by Chinese enterprises in South Africa, as well as operation, maintenance and other related services.

Strategic Cooperation Agreement to Fund Infrastructure and Industrial Development Projects in South Africa and the Rest of Africa between China Construction Bank Corporation and Industrial Corporation of South Africa Limited
The Parties will fund Infrastructure and Industrial Development projects, directly and indirectly in South Africa and the rest of Africa, subject to their internal funding processes.

Memorandum of Understanding between the Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)
The BAIC and the IDC will establish motor vehicle manufacturing facilities in South Africa at a coastal city either Durban or East London which will create jobs and manufacture motor vehicles for sale in South Africa and the rest of the African continent.

Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) and the China Communications Construction Company
This Agreement aims to establish and develop long-term cooperation to fund and implement new projects in the water and sanitation sector in South Africa.

Agreement on the Final Acceptance for CBERS-04 Satellite Ground System in South Africa between the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the China Aerospace, Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) appointed the China Centre for Earth Resource Satellite Data & Application (CRESDA) to build the CBERS-04 Satellite Ground System for the South Africa National Space Agency (SANSA). The CBERS-04 Satellite Ground System was formally handed over to SANSA while President Xi Jinping was in South Africa.

Collaboration and Framework Agreement between Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Standard Bank-South Africa
Standard Bank South Africa and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will co-operate to strengthen various sectors of the South African economy, with a particular focus on power and infrastructure. The Agreement is worth up to R10 billion over the next 5 years.

Cooperation Agreement between Investec and the Export-Import Bank of China
Investec Bank and the China Export-Import Bank will cooperation in projects to enhance trade between China and South Africa in mechanical and electronic products, complete sets of equipment, high and new-technology products, energy, raw materials, agricultural products and other products consistent with the economic and industrial development goals of both countries; energy and infrastructure projects located in China, South Africa or third countries in sub-Saharan Africa to be invested or developed by Chinese and/or South African enterprises, amongst other fields.

The extent of the Agreements finalised both for Africa and South Africa attest to the strength of relations between China and the continent.  The implementation of these agreements will see both Africa and China achieve a vision of a common destiny of growth, development and prosperity.  FOCAC 2015 must indeed be remembered by historians as the point at which relations between China and Africa moved towards a strategic vision for win-win cooperation.