ISTOCKWhatdoesChina鈥檚reformandopeningupmeantoAfricancountries?WhatlessonscanAfricancountriesdrawfromChina鈥檚routetoprosperity?ThesearethetopicstheChineseandAfricanscholarsfromthinktanksthroughoutChinaandAfricadiscussedattheSeventhMeetingofChina-AfricaThinkTanksForumconvenedinBeijingonJuly4.Overthepast40years,China-Africaeconomicandtradecooperationhasachievedleap-forwarddevelopment.ThetradevolumebetweenChinaandAfricaincreasedmorethan200-foldsincethestartofChina鈥檚reformandopeningupinlate1978.ChinahasmaintaineditspositionasAfrica鈥檚largesttradepartnerfornineyearsinarow,accordingtodatafromtheMinistryofCommerceofChina.
Theyear2018marksthe40thanniversaryofChina鈥檚reformandopeningup.Duringthisperiod,Chinaachieveditsownrapiddevelopment,andalsocommittedtobuildingacommunityofsharedfutureformankind.ReformandopeningupisagreatprocessthathasseenChinaandtheworld,especiallyChinaandAfricancountries,developandprogresstogether,accordingtoexpertsatthemeeting.Attheforum,envoys,governmentofficials,thinktankscholarsandmediarepresentativesexpressedtheiropinionsonChina-Africamutualdevelopmentsinthepastfourdecadesandhowtherelationshipcouldbefurtherstrengthenedinthefuture.Thefollowingisaneditedexcerptontheirviews:
ChenXiaodong
AssistantMinisterofForeignAffairs
ThedebtprobleminsomeAfricancountriesiscausedbymanyfactors.Itisacommonproblemfacedbydevelopingcountriesandhasbecomea鈥済rowingpain鈥漣nthedevelopmentprocess.Thefundamentalsolutionstilldependsoneconomicgrowth.Weoftensaythatitisbettertoteachpeopletofishthangivepeoplefish.ChinaiscooperatingwithAfricancountriestopromotetheirindependentdevelopmentcapabilities,andbuildalargenumberofprojectsinAfricathatcouldbenefititsnationaleconomyandpeople鈥檚livelihood.
JustinYifuLin
CounselorfortheStateCouncilofChinaandDeanofInstituteofNewStructuralEconomicsatPekingUniversity
WhenChina鈥檚reformandopeningupstartedinlate1978,Sub-SaharanAfrica鈥檚GDPpercapitawasmorethanthreetimesthatofChina.Atthattime,84percentofChineselivedonlessthan$1.25perday,theinternationalpovertystandard.
ThereasonwhyChinahasachievedsuchagreatsuccessafter1978isbecauseofitschangingthoughtofdevelopment.Inthepast,inpursuingmodernization,Africancountriesusuallyacquiredexperienceandtheoryfromdevelopedcountries.ThecurrentsituationbetweendevelopedcountriesandAfricancountriesistotallydifferent.Infact,thepreconditionsfordevelopmentinAfricaaresimilartothoseinChina.Therefore,theexperienceaccumulatedduringthe40yearsofChina鈥檚reformandopeningupandthetheoryithasdevelopedwillhavegreaterreferencevalueforAfricancountriesandotherdevelopingcountries.
Atpresent,theinfrastructureinmostAfricancountriesisrelativelypoor.Itisabottleneckforeconomicdevelopment.Labor-intensiveindustrializationhasbecomeakeypathtoprosperityandnowtheBeltandRoadInitiativewillplayanimportantroleinAfricancountriestowardsolvingthebottlenecksandachievingindustrialization.
PeterKagwanja
PresidentofAfricanPolicyInstituteinKenya
ChinaandAfricaarefollowingtheirseparatenon-hegemonicandwinwinpathstodevelopment.However,infrastructureinvestmentmustbeprofitableandproductivetoavoidanunsustainabledebtburden.TheBeijingSummitontheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC)thatwillbeheldinSeptembershouldemphasizetheneedforindustrialparksandalsoexaminewaystoavoidcorruptionandpoliticalpatronageinAfricanprojects.
ZerihunWoldu
VicePresidentofAddisAbabaUniversityinEthiopia
Chinashowsthatdevelopmentcanbeachieved,fromwhichAfricamaydrawinspirationforitsowndevelopmentdrive.ThethinktanksandmediaofChinaandAfricaneedtofindacommonvoiceandtellatrueChina-Africarelationshipstorytoenhancetheimageofbilateralrelations.Bothsidesneedtoimprovekeyskillsandcapacity,aswellasdevelopcommoninternationalethicalstandards.
CharlesOnunaiju
DirectorofCenterforChinaStudiesofNigeria
China鈥檚reformandopeningupallowsAfricatoseeahopefulfuture,andthesuccessofChinaservesasanimportantinspirationforAfricancountriestoseethatmodernizationismorethanonepath.
China-Africacooperationisamutuallearningprocess.China鈥檚BeltandRoadInitiativehasmadeChinaAfricarelationsmoredynamic.ChinaandAfricawilltakeacandidapproachtodealingwiththeirchallengestogether.ChinaandAfricacanpositivelyinfluencechangingtherulesofthegame.
LiYafang
PresidentofBeijingReview
ChineseandAfricanmediashouldseekcommongroundandputasidetheirdifferenceswhilerespectingculturaldiversity.ChineseandAfricanmediaoughttoincreasecooperationandexchangesoastopromoteamutualunderstandingbetweenChinaandAfrica.
LiuHongwu
DeanofInstituteofAfricanStudies,ZhejiangNormalUniversity
TherapiddevelopmentofChina-AfricarelationsisaspecialwindowforChina鈥檚reformandopeningup.Insomerespects,thebilateralrelationshaveboostedChina鈥檚openingtotheworld,andAfricancountriesarealsopreparingforanewsteptowardopeningup.
BothChinaandAfricahaveuniquehistoricalandculturaltraditions.Itisofgreatimportanceforthemtounderstandeachother,andtofollowthepaththatsuitstheirowndevelopment.Atthesametime,media,scholars,academicsandthinktanksarealsoshowingatrendofintegration.HowChineseandAfricanmediacanplaymorerolesinChina-Africacooperationisanimportantissueworthyofdiscussion.
MohamedFayezFarahatMahmoud
SeniorResearcherofAhramCenterforPoliticalandStrategicStudiesinEgypt
China鈥檚40yearsofreformandopeninguphavemaderemarkableachievementsthathaveattractedtheattentionoftheworld.Theexperienceprovedtobeinvaluabletodevelopingcountries,especiallyAfricancountries.
ChenMingkun
ViceDeanofInstituteofAfricanStudies,ZhejiangNormalUniversity
RelationsbetweenChinaandAfricainmanysectors,includingeconomic,cultural,educationalanddiplomaticareas,areexperiencingfastdevelopment.AfricadoesnotintendtofollowtheChinesedevelopmentmodeldirectly.Butwecanlearnfromeachother.WeshouldletmoreChinesepeopleknowaboutAfrica,andalsotellAfricanpeoplemoreaboutChinaandhowthecountryhasdevelopedoverthepast40years.
**Commentsto