Africa-Press – Lesotho. Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host African leaders for a summit in the first week of September as Beijing seeks to assert its influence in the continent further.
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has been scheduled in Beijing from September 4 to September 6.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced that leaders would attend the meeting at the invitation of FOCAC.
“Leaders of FOCAC’s African members will attend the summit at the invitation of the forum,” she said.
The Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs said representatives of relevant African regional organizations and international organizations will also attend relevant forum events.
The theme of the summit is “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future”.
President William Ruto is expected to lead Kenya in the meeting which comes against the backdrop of the Chinese government seeking to further deepen ties with Africa.
Kenya and China have been exchanging papers on some of the areas of cooperation that the government seeks to pursue at this year’s FOCAC summit.
Kenya is among others expected to pursue further cooperation agreements on education during the three-day meeting in Beijing.
“The meeting will bring cooperation opportunities for our friends for the next five years and beyond,” Chinese ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian said in a recent media event.
The meeting would also seek to follow up on the resolutions of a ministerial summit that was held in Dakar, Senegal in November 2021.
A brief on the upcoming meeting states that “Chinese and African leaders will get together for discussions on taking China-Africa cooperation to the next level and keep it up to date”.
“One focus would be exchanging governance experiences to speed up modernization,” the brief seen by the Star reads.
It adds, “China will, as always, give Africa full support as the continent modernizes in its own way and holds its future destiny firmly in its own hands.”
A recent plenary session of China’s key decision-making organ chaired by President Xi resolved to further deepen reform to advance Chinese modernization.
For the Chinese government, there is a compelling reason for the two sides to “join hands in building a community with a shared future at a high level”.
In March 2024, Chinese and African scholars under the FOCAC think-tank urged the two sides to explore independent, people-centred paths based on a country’s cultural characteristics and through mutual respect and mutual learning.
The Dar es Salaam Consensus is among the instruments that will be ratified during this year’s summit.
China boasts of helping Africa build 150,000 kilometres of communication backbone networks that serve over 700 million users.
The Asian powerhouse also asserts that it has carried out clean energy power generation projects in Africa as well as roads, railways, and sea ports.
“China and Africa will renew their commitment to China-Africa friendship and cooperation, share ideas and open up new prospects for the high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation,” the brief reads.
President Ruto attended China’s 3rd Belt and Road Initiative Forum in October last year and reached several cooperation agreements on infrastructure development.
Source: The Star
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