banners “Together for a better future” They have been installed every 20 metres on the main arteries of Beijing, while the People’s Armed Police guard the bridges. China left nothing to chance in the most important diplomatic event it has organised since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic: the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), its major triennial meeting with Africa, a continent it considers an indispensable ally in reforming an international order that, in its opinion, is too imbued with Western values.
Nigerian Bola Tinubu, South African Cyril Ramaphosa, Congolese Félix Tshisekedi… An impressive number of heads of state have travelled to Beijing. They will be welcomed at a grand banquet at the People’s Palace on Wednesday 4 September, before a solemn speech by the Chinese president the following day.
From this event, China expects China wants to show a message of unity and demonstrate that it is being followed in its struggle to redefine international priorities. At a time when the United States is increasingly adopting a policy of blocking transfers of electronic chips and high-tech components to its main strategic competitor, and when Europe is erecting customs barriers against its products, China wants to underline that it shares with African countries on the continent the struggle to be accepted in its rightful place.
“The world is undergoing profound transformations, driven by the rise of the Global South”Chinese government special representative for African affairs Liu Yuxi told reporters on Tuesday. “Our history will not return to the old days of colonialism”he assured, also denouncing the “Rise of the Cold War mentality”.
Constant Links
For this reason, China is not sparing attention to the fifty-three African countries that recognise it; one last one, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), still maintains ties with Taipei. The speech is tailor-made: to Colonel Assimi Goïta, head of the Malian military junta, Xi Jinping assured Tuesday that China “south[enai]“the self-determination of African peoples in choosing their future destiny”a reference to the moral lessons of France in particular.
These considerations do not only last for the duration of a summit, the links are constant. Xi Jinping has visited Africa five times; since last year alone, he has received, and with honours, twenty African heads of state. For thirty-four years, Chinese foreign ministers have booked their first trip of the year to the continent, which is not just a matter of the diplomatic apparatus: each ministry, each important branch of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), each province is responsible for part of the cooperation.
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