By Manal Abdel Fattah
Ambassador Liao Liqiang, Chinese Ambassador to Cairo, said that the outlines of China-Africa cooperation in the next stage were formulated during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, where the two sides adopted the “Beijing Declaration” and the “Action Plan” to strengthen China-Africa cooperation in the next three years, as President Xi Jinping announced that China is willing to work with the African side to implement the ten partnership actions for modernization in the next three years.
First, the partnership action for mutual benefit between civilizations, where a platform for exchanging experiences on governance and administration will be built, the China-Africa Development Knowledge Network will be established, and 1,000 African party figures will be invited to visit China.
Second, the partnership action for trade prosperity, where it was announced to expand market opening unilaterally, and all least developed African countries that have diplomatic relations with China will be granted zero-tariff treatment on 100% of taxable products imported from them, making the huge Chinese market a promising opportunity for Africa.
Third, the partnership for industrial chain cooperation, whereby the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Pilot Zone will be built, the “African SME Empowerment Program” will be launched, and the China-Africa Digital Technology Cooperation Center will be established.
Fourth, the partnership for connectivity and communication, whereby a China-Africa connectivity network featuring land and sea interaction and coordinated development will be built to help Africa achieve cross-regional development.
Fifth, the partnership for development cooperation, whereby 1,000 “small and beautiful” projects in the field of people’s livelihood will be implemented, so that the fruits of development can better serve the African people.
Sixth, the partnership for health, whereby joint medical centers will be established and 2,000 medical teams will be sent to Africa to support the construction of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Seventh, the partnership for agriculture and people’s development, whereby urgent food aid will be provided to Africa, a standard demonstration zone for agriculture will be built, and at least 1 million jobs will be created for Africa.
Eighth, the partnership work for people-to-people and cultural communication, where the “Vocational Education – Africa’s Future” program will be implemented in depth, and 60,000 educational opportunities will be provided, with 2026 designated as the “Year of People-to-People and Cultural Communication between China and Africa”.
Ninth, the partnership work for green development, where 30 clean energy projects will be implemented in Africa, 30 joint laboratories will be established, and cooperation will be carried out in the fields of satellite remote sensing, lunar exploration, and deep space.
Tenth, the partnership work for achieving security, where model cooperation areas for the Global Security Initiative will be built, and competent personnel from the ranks of the army and police will be trained for the African side.
The ambassador added: As you know, last July, the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held, which attracted the attention of Egypt, Africa, and the world.
He continued: The aforementioned “ten partnership works” are an extension of what the session proposed regarding opening up to the outside, and it is an important guideline for implementing the outcomes of the session.
President Xi Jinping announced that the Chinese government will take important measures to implement the “Ten Partnerships”, and stressed that China will support and encourage African countries to issue “Panda Bonds” in China, providing strong support for China-Africa cooperation in all fields.
He added: Egypt was the first African country to issue these bonds in China, and the China-Egypt cooperation model has been extended to all of Africa, which embodies the exemplary and pioneering nature of China-Egypt relations.
He pointed out that four high-level sessions were held within the framework of the summit, where attendees discussed the topics of governance and administration, industrialization, modern agriculture, peace and security, and high-quality construction of the “Belt and Road”, which contributed wisdom and strength to realizing the dream of common modernization between China and Africa.
The Chinese-African Businessmen’s Conference was also held on the sidelines of the summit, which provided an important platform for communication between companies from both sides, and injected new vitality into China-Africa practical cooperation.
