- Chinese president Xi Jinping’s presence has been confirmed
- China has set aside $300bn for African imports under Dakar Action plan
BONGANI MALUNGA
President Mokgweetsi Masisi has committed to attending the 9th edition of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC 9) that is slated for 4 to 6 September in Beijing, China.
The President made the pledge to attend the event as he received letters of credence from the Ambassador Designate of the People’s Republic of China to Botswana, Fan Yong, in Gaborone on Monday.
This year’s event is the ninth instalment of an initiative that was first introduced in 2000.
Jinping’s third appearance
It will be held under the theme of “Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future” and will be graced by the presence of Chinese president Xi Jinping who is expected to deliver a keynote address.
This will be Jinping’s third appearance at the event since ascending to power in 2014. Such is the magnitude of the event that it will be the highest convention of African leaders in China since 2018.
China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chen Xiaodong, confirmed Xi Jinping’s involvement in the summit at a press conference last week.
Industrialisation on the agenda
Xiaodong stated that a range of topics will be discussed during the event with African leaders expected to take to the podium. Some of the issues include state governance, industrialisation, agricultural modernisation, and peace and security.
China has committed to importing $300 billion worth of goods from Africa from 2022 to 2024 as part of the Dakar Action Plan.
The Dakar Plan was agreed and endorsed during the 2021 FOCAC summit held in Dakar, Senegal with an emphasis on trade promotion which gave African countries market access to the Chinese population that runs in the hundreds of millions.
Notes from Dakar
According to notes from the Dakar summit, China also committed $10 billion to improve Africa’s exports and an additional $10 billion in credit aimed at funding small and medium-sized companies to export market standard products to China.
Industry experts have labelled FOCAC as a platform that is enhancing Africa’s image in terms of engaging with global markets. It is viewed as a reference point to demonstrate that African countries can forge lasting relations with international partners.