Africa-China summit: African countries await action after Beijing's promises

Members of the Senegalese delegation enter the Africa-China Forum in Dakar, November 30, 2021. © SEYLLOU / AFP

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The 8th Africa-China Cooperation Forum organized this year in Dakar ended on Tuesday, November 30.

After 21 years of partnership through this organization, African leaders were keen to put forward their own priorities to rebalance the relationship with Beijing.

But despite the promises of the Chinese president, not sure that the continent sees a real change in the long term.

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Xi Jinping made a list of promises to Africa, one of which is spectacular: one billion doses of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine. The Chinese president also pledged $ 10 billion in investments by Chinese companies to industrialize Africa, $ 300 billion in additional imports of African agricultural products and the cancellation of the debt of the least developed countries for 2021. To At first glance, the Chinese president responded on almost all of the points put forward in Dakar or by videoconference by Macky Sall, the Senegalese president, Félix Tshisekedi, the Congolese president, or Moussa Faki Mahamat, the president of the commission of the African Union.

Senegalese Foreign Minister Aïssata Tall Sall said she was satisfied with China's consideration of African priorities, but she is waiting for these promises to materialize and for real change. 

[...] We are pleased to note that these concerns have been the subject of a broad consensus between the African and Chinese parties and that they have indeed been taken into account in the working documents submitted for our consideration.

We must now agree on new, more efficient working methods that will promote inclusion and speed in the execution of our cooperation programs so that each member can effectively and truly benefit from the effects of our partnership.

Aissata Tall Sall

For his part, underlines researcher Thierry Pairault, the problem of Africa's long-term debt has not been resolved, nor is the opacity of Chinese contracts.

In the event of a dispute with African states, China, which imposed its arbitration tribunal in Beijing, has agreed to move it to Hong Kong, which is not really progress.

What is important is to know if the debt was contracted by having ensured that the repayment of this debt had been organized.

And that's where the problem actually arises ...

Thierry Pairault, research director at CRNS and EHESS, specialist in China Africa issues

Charlotte cosset

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