Attherecentlyconcluded10thBRICSsummitinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica,thetheme鈥淏RICSinAfrica:CollaborationforInclusiveGrowthandSharedProsperityinthe4thIndustrialRevolution鈥漺asproduced.Thismakesreferencestokeywordsincluding鈥渋ndustrialrevolution鈥漚nd鈥淎frica鈥檚industrialization.鈥滳anAfricabecometheworld鈥檚futurefactory?CanAfricatransformitsresourceendowmentinto鈥渕adeinAfrica鈥漝evelopmentaladvantages?WhatrolewillChina-Africacooperationplayinthecontinent鈥檚industrialization?ThesearevitalquestionsrelatedtoAfrica鈥檚futuredevelopment.
VisionandAction
Clearly,industrializationisanimportantfoundationforacountry鈥檚modernizationaswellastheinevitablecourseacountrymusttaketopromoteeconomicdevelopment.Africa,hometoabundantnaturalresourcesandgiftedwithademographicadvantage,isundergoingalongindustrializationprocessfulloftwistsandturns.Aftersufferingchroniccolonialruleandalackofeconomicstructuraldiversity,industrializationinmostAfricancountriescontinuestolagandremainsatbasiclevels.Africa鈥檚industrialoutputaccountsforlessthan3percentoftheworld鈥檚total.Althoughthecontinentisstillintheearlystagesofindustrialization,manyAfricancountriessetindustrializationasanimportanteconomicgoalwhentheyfirstachievedindependence.Africanleadersaspiretoescapeeconomicdependencyontheirformercolonialmasters,shiftawayfromhighlydependenteconomicstructuresandseizeeconomicindependenceandautonomousdevelopmentintherealestsense.
Inthe21stcentury,againstthebackdropofeconomicglobalization,Africancountriesaretakingactionstoembraceandpromoteindustrializationevenmoreenthusiastically.Insuccession,AfricancountriesandtheAfricanUnionhaveissuedimportantdocumentsondevelopmentstrategiesincludingTheNewPartnershipforAfrica鈥檚Development(2001),AcceleratedIndustrialDevelopmentinAfrica(2008),ProgramforInfrastructureDevelopmentinAfrica(2013)andAfricanAgenda2063(2013).Africaaimstorealizemajordevelopmentduringthe21stcenturythroughindustrializationandeconomicintegration.
FuelingDevelopment
ProductioncapacitycooperationbetweenChinaandAfricaconformstothedevelopmentalneedsofbothsides.Asolidfoundationforsuchcooperationhasalreadybeenlaid.AfterfourdecadessinceChinastarteditsreformandopeningup,thecountryhasenteredthemiddleandlatestagesofindustrialization,soitpossessesdevelopmentcapital,appropriatetechnologiesandequipmentandabundantexperienceintransforminganagriculturalcountryintoaglobalfactory.BecauseChinaisdrivingeconomicrestructuringandupgradingtoadeeperlevel,alargeamountofproductioncapacityandtechnologyneedstobemigrated.MostAfricancountries,stillattheinitialstageofindustrialization,areingreatdemandofproductssuchassteelandcement.However,mostoftheseproductsneedtobeimported.Consequently,theseAfricancountrieswouldbenefitgreatlyfromtakingproductioncapacityfromChinatoacceleratetheirrespectiveindustrializationprocesses.ConditionsforhistoricChina-Africaproductioncapacitycooperationareripe.
GovernmentsandenterprisesfrombothsidesalsostronglysupportandpromoteChina-Africaproductioncapacitycooperation.DuringtheirvisitstoAfricain2013and2014,respectively,bothChinesePresidentXiJinpingandChinesePremierLiKeqiangproposeddevelopmentgoalsof鈥渂uildingthreenetworksandpromotingindustrialization鈥漟orAfrica.ChinawillaidAfrica鈥檚constructionof鈥渢hreenetworks,鈥漬amelyrailway,highwayandregionalaviationnetworks,andhelpdriveindustrializationinAfrica.AfricancountriesalsoexpecttostrengthenindustrialcooperationwithChinaasthelatterhaslaunchedanewroundofindustrialrestructuring.TheyhopetopromoteindustrialdevelopmentandrealizetechnologicalprogressbyabsorbingChina鈥檚productioncapacity.
Atthe2015JohannesburgSummitoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperation(FOCAC),ChinesePresidentXiJinpingannouncedtenmajorcooperationplanswithAfrica,totalingUS$60billioninfundingsupport.Theplanscoveredcooperationonindustrialization,agriculturalmodernization,infrastructure,finance,greendevelopment,tradeandinvestmentfacilitation,povertyreduction,publichealth,culturalandpeople-topeopleexchanges,peaceandsecurity.Oftheseplans,China-Africaindustrialcooperation,especiallyproductioncapacitycooperationbetweenChinaandAfricaandthepromotionofindustrializationinAfrica,wasitemizedmostprominently.Toensureasuccessfulimplementationoftheindustrialcooperationplan,aninitialcontributionofUS$10billionwasdesignatedfortheChina-Africaproductioncapacitycooperationfund.AnincreaseofUS$5billionwenttoboththeChina-AfricaDevelopmentFundandtheSpecialLoanstoSupportSmallandMedium-sizedEnterprisesinAfrica.
EarlyHarvests
Thankstotirelesseffortsinrecentyears,China-Africaproductioncapacitycooperationhasalreadyproducedfruits.Sincethe2006BeijingSummitofFOCAC,ChinahasestablishedsixeconomicandtradecooperationzonesinfiveAfricancountries:theEthiopia-basedEasternIndustryZone,LekkiFreeTradeZoneinNigeria,Zambia-ChinaEconomicandTradeCooperationZone,NigeriaOgunGuangdongFreeTradeZone,MauritiusJinfeiEconomicTradeandCooperationZoneandSuezEconomicandTradeCooperationZone.Nearly100industrialparksjointlybuiltbyChinaandAfricancountriesarenoweitherunderconstructionorinoperationinAfrica.Bytheendof2017,thetotalstockofChineseinvestmentinAfricaexceededUS$100billionand3,500-plusChineseenterpriseswereinvestingandoperatinginAfrica.TheseChineseenterpriseslaunchednewprojectsinAfrica,providingnewspaceforthecontinent鈥檚developmentaswellasfortheirownbusinesstransformation.
OnJanuary27,2015,ChinasignedamemorandumofunderstandingwiththeAfricanUniononinfrastructureconstructioncooperation.Accordingtothedocument,Chinawould,withintheframeworkofAfricanAgenda2063,enhancecooperationwithAfricancountriesinfieldssuchasrailways,highways,regionalaviationandindustrializationaspartofabidtoacceleratetheeconomicintegrationofAfrica.EarlyprogresshasalreadybeenachievedinthefirstgroupofAfricancountriesincludingTanzaniaandEthiopia,whichhavecarriedoutproductioncapacitycooperationwithChina.
Tanzaniapresentsaprimeexample.OneofthefirstAfricancountriestocarryoutproductioncapacitycooperationwithChina,TanzaniasignedaframeworkagreementwithChinaonApril28,2015.ThecoreofTanzania鈥檚currentfiveyeardevelopmentplantargetsindustrialization,withaneyeonaccomplishingconnectivityonproductioncapacitycooperationwithChina.In2009,Tanzaniabeganconstructingexportprocessingzonestoattractforeigninvestment,expandexports,createjobsandenhanceproductiontechnologiesandeconomicmanagementlevelbydevelopingexport-orientedindustries.Sofar,12Chineseenterpriseshavesettledintheseexportprocessingzones.
TwoimportantsectorsofChina-Africaproductioncapacitycooperation鈥攊nfrastructurecooperationandindustrialparkconstruction鈥攁rerollingfull-speedaheadinAfricatoday.ChinahashelpedAfricabuildmanyrailways,includingtheMombasa-NairobirailwaythatconnectstheKenyancapitalofNairobiwiththeportcityMombasaandtheEthiopia-DjiboutirailwaywhichlinksEthiopiancapitalAddisAbabatotheportofDjibouti,inadditiontomorerailwaysnowunderconstructioninAngolaandNigeria.鈥淭hefoundationswelaytodaywillleadustoanewchapterofindustrialization,鈥漝eclaredKenyanPresidentUhuruKenyattaattheopeningceremonyfortheMombasa-NairobirailwayonMay31,2017.
TheMombasa-NairobirailwayconnectingtheKenyancapitalofNairobiwiththeportcityMombasabeganoperationonMay31,2017.ConstructedbyChinaRoadandBridgeCorporationwithatotalinvestmentofUS$3.8billion,the480-kilometer-longrailwayisthelargestinfrastructureprojectsinceKenyagainedindependencein1963.VCGTheauthorisaresearcherwiththeInstituteofWest-AsianandAfricanStudies,ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences.