Shared future leads to high-quality modernization

In his keynote speech at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit, which concluded on Friday, President Xi Jinping suggested new ideas for building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, and proposed new initiatives to boost practical cooperation between China and Africa. He proposed "Six Visions of Modernization" and "10 Partnership Actions" for China and Africa, urging the two sides to work together to advance modernization.

He said the China-Africa relationship is at its best in history, yet it should be further upgraded to the level of strategic relations, as that would help them build an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

President Xi also said that the Western approach to modernization has inflicted immense sufferings on developing countries. The African people have a strong sense of continental identity, which stems from the long history of colonization. The struggle against colonialism has awakened the collective consciousness of the African people, and Pan-Africanism is the product of that awakening. William Du Bois, an African-American sociologist, historian and activist, organized and led the first Pan-African Congress, calling on the whole of Africa to rise against and defeat colonialism.

Pan-Africanism inspired the African people to fight for independence, establish independent states in Africa, and set up the African Union. Throughout the continent's anti-colonial history, African unity and symbiosis have continuously injected new impetus into African people's struggle for liberty, equality and justice.

Yet Pan-Africanism is influenced by Western centrism, and its goal is to prove that Africa has its own civilization and that Africans are not idle and ignorant. On the other hand, the "community with a shared future" is a groundbreaking concept because it creates a set of independent discourse systems that are free of Western centrism.

China and Africa will continue to fight against imperialism, neocolonialism and hegemonism, and work together to realize modernization. And South-South cooperation, exemplified by China-Africa cooperation, will inject positive energy into and stabilize the volatile political situation.

Also, President Xi emphasized that modernization is a sure way of connecting dreams with reality, and that realizing modernization is the right of every country. The concept of China-Africa community with a shared future has a solid foundation, a high starting point and good prospects, and has set a bright example of advancing modernization.

President Xi first proposed "building a high-level community with a shared future between China and Africa" at the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC in Dakar, Senegal, in November 2021. "High level" here means "qualitative", hence, building "a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future" would be a milestone in the history of China-Africa relations.

The China-Africa community with a shared future has six characteristics: shared responsibility, win-win cooperation, shared happiness, shared culture, shared security, and harmonious coexistence. These characteristics embody multidimensionality in cooperative principles.

As for the "Six Visions of Modernization", they are promotion of just and equitable modernization, open and win-win modernization, people-first modernization, diversified and inclusive modernization, eco-friendly modernization, and peaceful and secure modernization, and together they embody multidimensionality in development goals.

And the "10 Partnership Actions" are taking actions for building partnerships for mutual learning among civilizations, enhancing trade prosperity, strengthening industrial chain cooperation, upgrading connectivity, boosting development cooperation, improving healthcare, promoting agriculture and livelihoods, increasing people-to-people exchanges, advancing green development, and safeguarding common security.

Together, these partnerships encompass all aspects of politics, economics, security, people-to-people exchanges and international affairs, and promote people-centric, multidimensional cooperation.

Moreover, China and Africa have deepened cooperation in emerging fields. In the field of aerospace, for instance, China has launched communication satellites for Algeria, Ethiopia and other African countries. On the e-commerce front, China and Africa have been working together to expand cooperation in "Silk Road E-commerce", and organized the African Goodies Online Shopping Festival, while Chinese e-commerce enterprises have intensified their operations in the Kenyan market, creating nearly 10,000 job opportunities for local youths.

And in the health sector, Chinese enterprises have invested in pharmaceuticals in Mali, Uganda, Cameroon and other African countries, increasing the availability of locally made medicines in Africa, which reflects the huge potential of China-Africa cooperation.

The author is deputy director of the Center for East African Studies at Shanghai International Studies University and a lecturer in Kiswahili.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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