Recently, the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was successfully held in Beijing. H.E. President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the Summit and delivered a keynote address. H.E. President Barrow and other leaders of the 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China attended the Summit.
The Summit is the largest and highest diplomatic event hosted by China this year with nearly 6,000 guests attending. Focusing on the theme of “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future”, Chinese and African leaders discussed agenda items including traditional friendship, governance and cooperation, reaching a broad consensus and achieving fruitful results. The two sides unanimously adopted two important outcome documents, one is the Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era and another is the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027), which will serve as guiding documents for China-Africa cooperation in near future. As the highlight of the Summit deliverables, the overall characterization of China-Africa relations was elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
The positioning of China-Africa relations has achieved a new leap forward. China-Africa friendship has a long history. Looking back on the nearly 70-year development of China-Africa relations, the two sides have always kept pace with the times, followed the historical trends, continuously unleashed cooperation potentials, and upgraded the level of China-Africa relations. During the 24 years since the establishment of the FOCAC, the positioning of China-Africa relations has achieved a “triple jump” from the establishment of “a new type of partnership” in 2000, to “a new type of strategic partnership” in 2006, and further to “a comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership” in 2015. During this Summit, China has established or upgraded strategic partnerships with 30 African countries, including The Gambia, completing the “full coverage” of strategic partnerships between China and all 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China. This new positioning highlights the firm will and historical awareness of China and Africa to jointly cope with the transformations of the world unseen in a century, strengthens the global strategic implications of China-Africa cooperation, and sends out a strong message of the solidarity and self-reliance of Global South.
The China-Africa community with a shared future has entered a new stage. H.E. President Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future many times. As the world’s largest developing country and the continent with the highest concentration of developing countries, China and Africa went through similar historical circumstances and arduous struggles, pursuing common dreams for development and prosperity. Over the past years, China and Africa have always been the pioneers and pathfinders in building a community with a shared future. In the struggle for national liberation, we shared the same sufferings and supported each other. Along the path towards modernization, we shared the same goal and cooperated in good faith. Therefore, we have formed a brotherhood of breathing the same breath, sharing the same future, and staying truly connected with each other. China and Africa are building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, which is the first time that the building of a community with a shared future for mankind has reached the ‘all-weather’ level across a whole continent. More than 2.8 billion people of China and Africa, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, will serve as the finest ballast and propeller for the community with a shared future for mankind.
China and Africa have reached a new consensus on jointly promoting modernization. Modernization is a common dream that the peoples of China and Africa are striving for, and it is also the legitimate right of all African countries, including The Gambia. China is advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, while Africa is also awakening again and actively exploring African path to modernization. In his keynote address at the Summit, H.E. President Xi Jinping put forward six propositions on China and Africa joining hands to promote modernization, namely advancing modernization that is just and equitable, open and win-win, putting the people first, featuring diversity and inclusiveness, eco-friendly, and underpinned by peace and security. The six propositions were highly praised and echoed by the African leaders attending the Summit. They have further deepened our two sides’ understanding of the patterns of modernization, reaffirmed the historic mission of China and Africa to jointly spearhead the modernization of the Global South, and will certainly have a significant and profound impact on the modernization process of the Global South and even the whole world.
The new blueprint for China-Africa cooperation in the new era has been laid out. During the Summit, H.E. President Xi Jinping announced the “Ten Partnership Actions” for China and Africa to work together to promote modernization over the next three years, covering ten major areas, including Mutual Learning among Civilizations, Trade Prosperity, Industrial Chain Cooperation, Connectivity, Development Cooperation, Health, Agriculture and Livelihoods, People-to-People Exchanges, Green Development, and Common Security. During the bilateral meeting, H.E. President Barrow noted that H.E. President Xi Jinping’s announcement of the “Ten Partnership Actions” has elevated Africa-China relations to a new level, which The Gambia highly appreciates. H.E. President Barrow further pointed out that China has always been action-oriented and has always acted on its words. With the help of China, the Road and Bridge project in the Upper River Region has successfully connected the “last mile” of The Gambia’s national highway network, and the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center has helped The Gambia successfully host the 15th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). On the Journey to modernization, The Gambia and China are true partners sharing the same path. The two sides should seize the historic opportunity to implement the “Ten Partnership Actions”, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning in governance, and deepen exchanges and cooperation in priority areas, thus setting a global example of equal cooperation between large and small countries for mutual benefit and win-win results.
An ancient Chinese saying goes, “The going may be tough when one walks alone, but it gets easier when people walk together.” An African proverb says, “A single bracelet does not jingle.” Looking ahead, China is determined to work with The Gambia, guided by the important consensus reached by the two leaders, to fully implement the outcomes of FOCAC Summit, enrich the content of the strategic partnership, and continuously expand cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, health, trade, investment, education, and cultural exchanges, thereby striving forward hand in hand on the journey towards modernization and writing a new chapter of China-Gambia friendship.
