Author: Admin

Ssemanda Allawi is a Senior Research Fellow at DWC and author Global Governance and Norm Contestation: How BRICS is Reshaping World Order.

Speak and Place: Where Does President Xi Jinping’s Speech at the 2024 FOCAC Summit Put Africa?

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By Ssemanda Abdurahim

In his book, Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity, Abraham Joshua Heschel remarks that “Words Create Worlds.” By far to moralists, this is not a fallacy. When we speak, we create, and in our creations, we place or put something new somewhere in a place. As a result, it is indisputable that President Xi Jinping’s speech at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in Beijing on 5th September 2024, has a huge implication on Africa and it clearly points out his position and Africa’s position in FOCAC. In this article therefore, I am going to analyse what it actually means for Africa to be in this cooperation and where the cooperation places Africa in relation to President Xi’s speech.

In his keynote address,  the President of the People’s Republic of China remarked that; “as we are about to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, we are going all out to build a great modern socialist country in all respects and pursue national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. Africa is also awakening again, and the continent is marching in solid strides toward the modernisation goals set forth in the AU’s Agenda 2063.” By reference to AU’s Agenda 2063, it clearly indicates that China is purely cognisant of the goals set by Africans in order to achieve development for Africans. This therefore tells us that China willingness to work with African countries to realise their potential is genuine and purely driven by China’s wish to support building a community of shared future for mankind. It means, as a former colony which like African countries suffered injustices of colonial masters, China just chips in to help African countries realise their development goals. Thus, Beijing doesn’t do it by interfering in African affairs but rather, shared developmental ideas, at times funds and leaving final decisions to be taken by African governments.

By this, President Xi clearly indicates that amity, and respect for each other,  is a core value in the cooperation between China and Africa. He shows us that even when there is a need to adopt the means of development just as the Chinese Path to Modernity, it should be an incorporation and blending of African thoughts alongside Chinese thoughts. Put differently, China respects the decisions of African governments, their rights and values. For such, indeed it is an ideal cooperation that Africa has lacked.

With this approach, China excels as the best country ever to cooperate with Africa as far as development is concerned. This is simply because, it makes China to perfectly fit in the analogy of a good curriculum developer who has thoroughly understood what is the problem (The problem or need for Africa), who is facing the problem (Characteristics and the needs of Africans), the intended outcomes or what will the Africans be able to do, the important and relevant means, and ways or methods through which the desired goals can be achieved. Whereas one might argue that China will not do different things to help Africa achieve modernisation and development, another one can argue that it is differently doing those obvious things like funding projects. However, Africa’s problem has always been who it cooperates with. Most of the countries especially those in the West have failed to understand and respect Africa’s and the demands of Africans. However, President Xi’s speech signals a lot of awareness and respect for Africa as far as this cooperation is concerned.

For instance, in a move to promote modernisation, President Xi argued that; We should jointly advance modernisation that is just and equitable. In promoting modernisation, we should not only follow the general rules, but also act in light of our national realities. China is ready to increase exchanges of governance experience with Africa, support all countries in exploring modernisation paths befitting their national conditions, and help ensure equal rights and equal opportunities for all countries. His choice of words clearly indicates that Africa will not be thought and decided for but rather, decisions of modernising Africa shall come on a round table. By this, problems of some powers pretending to know us (Africans) better than we know ourselves shall be solved with the shift to China.

Furthermore, President Xi called for the advancement of modernisation that puts the people first. In this call, he remarked that the ultimate goal of modernisation is the free and full development of human beings. He talked about how China would work vigorously with Africa to promote personnel training, poverty reduction and employment, focused on enhancing the sense of gain, happiness and security of the people in the course of modernisation, and ensure that all will benefit from the process. The concept of personnel training alone shows how China aims at training the Africans to catch the fish themselves rather than giving them the fish. This predictably signals a country with which Africa is cooperating that aims at equipping people with skills of sustaining themselves rather than relying on foreign help and support. To any careful observer, one can clearly see that China is helping Africans to realize that it is possible to stand alone without depending on other powers, especially those we look at as developed countries. This is an idea that the West cannot stand doing for Africans.

The visionary President of China further remarked that China and Africa account for one-third of the world population. Without our modernisation, there will be no global modernisation. In the next three years, China will work with Africa to take the following ten partnership actions for modernisation to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead the Global South modernisation. Any person who would have a reason to doubt China’s authenticity as far as cooperating with Africa is concerned now has all the reasons to believe that China is the right country to cooperate with. The president stressed issues that are meant to help the cooperation stand for centuries ahead rather than being focused on how the cooperation would benefit China.

In conclusion, President Xi’s speech clearly places Africa at the forefront of development and clearly reassures Africa that it has got a genuine escort on her journey to development. President Xi’s frequent use of the first person plural pronoun (we) also vividly shows that Africa has got a companion and a brother who understands Africa’s challenges and is willing to help her sail through. The speech emphasises harmonious cooperation full of respect for culture and values of Africa and its people with harmony being a central pillar in achieving the desired goals.

Ssemanda Abdurahim is a research fellow at the Sino-Uganda Research Centre

 

FOCAC: Understanding China-Africa Areas of Cooperation

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By Ernest Jovan Talwana

The Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is the official multi-lateral cooperation mechanism within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) between several African countries and China. Each FOCAC summit usually results in a three-year action plan, with activities agreed on to be implemented bilaterally between China and individual African Countries and with China pledging support for African countries in several areas of cooperation. Let’s understand the various sectors of cooperation encompassed in this year’s summit, which happened on Wednesday, Sep 4, 2024 – Friday, Sep 6, 2024.

Differently put, one may wonder what is in it for Africa? African countries have various individual and collective development goals which they pursue when they go to the FOCAC meetings. This year, those goals are encapsulated in a number of highlighted commitments between China and African nations to realize mutual cooperation, economic growth and sustainable development. These areas include Mutual learning among civilisations; Trade prosperity; Industrial chain cooperation; Connectivity; Development cooperation; Health; Agriculture and livelihoods; People-to-people exchanges; Green development and lastly Common security.

FOCAC is a critical platform for China-Africa cooperation because of its unique consideration for supporting the Global South’s priorities. In this, it offers an alternative to the restrictive, arrogant, talk-down kinds of aid dependency that African states had endured for decades under the patronage of Western-Bretton Woods institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. With FOCAC, African leaders can now negotiate mutually beneficial agreements with China in a manner never precedented in history.

Cooperating on common security

No development can happen in a state of insecurity. African countries have been tied back from the course of development because many spend great attention, resources and time while fighting civil wars, terrorism and against Western imperialism. This state of chronic insecurity affects their ability to concentrate on infrastructural development and modernisation while the rest of the world is advancing. China under FOCAC promised to give Africa $140.5M in military assistance. Additionally, Comrade Xi Jinping committed to having training programs, and joint military exercises to create a “mine-free Africa” in order to the safety of people working on developmental infrastructure projects. This is a solid guarantee of peace and security to Africa to set off on its modernisation agendas.

Deepening Industrial Cooperation

Development cannot happen without industrialisation. African economies are currently largely importers of foreign goods which leads to a haemophilic drainage of their foreign reserves due to spending the little they have on buying external goods. To end this parasitic bleeding of African economies, China will support the construction of industrial clusters in Africa to empower Africans to engineer their own products and become industrially self-reliant. It also promised to build a technology cooperation center with 20 digital demonstration projects in Africa.

Providing opportunities for Trade prosperity

About 33 African countries stand to gain from China’s zero-tariff policy. This is good because many less developed countries especially in Africa lack sufficient capacity to trade with rich countries like China due to tariff barriers. Therefore, a zero-tariff policy will not only open China’s market further but also create an opportunity for African states to sell to the Chinese huge market.

Supporting Connectivity

China is already Africa’s biggest infrastructural development financer. Over 100,000 kilometres of road networks and expressways have been built in Africa with Chinese support in order to have connectivity. Additionally, bridges, hydropower dams, railway lines and ports have been built in China. To this, the FOCAC summit came with more promises by China to work on 30 infrastructure projects in Africa. This will further deepen our mutual Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation.

Cooperating in building robust Public Health

Africa is highly a disease-ridden continent, which puts a heavy burden on our national budgets and eats away at our developmental budget. Poor public health systems also render millions of Africans an economically unproductive constituency of their governments, while at the same time collapsing the public wallet because of the health expenditures. China will build more hospitals under the China-Africa hospital alliance to provide health care to Africans. It will also support us with over 2,000 medical personnel in addition to investing in Africa’s pharmaceutical production. This will go a long way in strengthening public health systems on the continent.

Promoting Agriculture and improving livelihoods

China promises financial support in food assistance as well as building agricultural demonstration areas and sending experts and creating jobs through joint ventures with African entrepreneurs. Some of these projects are already running, and Uganda is one of the exemplary beneficiaries with a robust rice farming scheme supported by China in Butalejja district.

Cooperating on Green development

As the world weans itself off of crude oil due to its deleterious effect on the climate, China is poised to implement 30 clean energy projects in Africa and also support the protection of our rich biodiversity. FOCAC also earned us cooperation on nuclear technology and space exploration, fields which are key to our energy needs and communication.

Promoting People-to-people exchanges

China promised to enable the growth of vocational education in Africa by offering training opportunities for our youth to learn hands-on skills they can use to build industrial products. This is a very constructive area of collaboration since it is where Chinese excellence is – in a large population of skilled people with hands-on capabilities.

In conclusion, there are a lot of opportunities that we look forward to harness from the concluded FOCAC summit. Many commitments and promises were made. It is now time for work to utilise the goodwill China has shown us over the years. Our previous dealings with China have proved that it is a reliable development partner which is keen on real results and practical cooperation. As such, its promises can be banked on.

The writer is a research fellow at the Sino-Uganda Research Center.

 

 

The 9th FOCAC Ministterial Confrence: China and Africa Are Now Looking Beyond Economics, Focusing on A Composite Shared Future

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By Mpewo Alan Collins

The just concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) gave a new picture of how we should view FOCAC. The confrence laid a groundwork for the just concluded 2024 FOCAC Beijing summit attracted foreign and economic ministers from 53 African member countries, and representatives of the African Union and other regional and international organizations were among more than 300 attendees of the meeting.

This confrence has held a long standing life since the year 2000, when it came to life. The partner states meet in the FOCAC confrence after every 3 years of holding a similar gathering, a tradition until now, that has been maintained registering this year’s as the 9th FOCAC Ministerial Conference.

Because of the growing changes in the international relations environment, China and Africa Continent countries but Eswatini found it fitting in their wisdom to come up with the idea of a coalition where they would keep looking out for the best for their citizens while enhancing multi border cooperation. The FOCAC bases on two major standing values to wit, ‘Mutual Respect’ and ‘Mutual Benefit’. It goes without saying that succeeding the relations among major superpowers of the mid and late 1990’s, China and Africa appreciate a change in direction as regards international cooperation to which, the FOCAC was birthed as a pilot idea, interesting enough, that today its profile of successes and ideals are becoming a model for China’s and Africa’s rivals to emulate.

As all good things, the FOCAC has over the years registered new states joining to also take part in the benefits that come with association. The 9th FOCAC Ministerial Conference is under the theme ‘Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future’. As before, the focus is to build more for the future having significantly realized the 8th FOCAC Ministerial Conference action points. The attention is therefore on extensive focus on modernization as by all standards should be.

But amidst the events that occasioned the success of the conference, the greatest attention snatcher was the Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era. The declaration was adopted by attendant FOCAC members, and the letter and spirit of each declaration clause gets interesting as to what it speaks to. Three key extracts being international security and human rights; science; and sustainable globalization. In this the African Union and United Nations agendas have been factored in. China has resounded its commitment to an Africa that’s empowered to ending Western power financial trapping into unconscionable interest loans and extended solidarity for the 2026 World Trade Organization conference that will take place on the African continent. The financial independence that understands the balance in negotiation for a win-win situation has never been neglected, and as sustainable globalization became something of concern, the FOCAC members are continuously focusing on materializing it.

These commitments and more come at a time of a fragile international environment (economically and socio-politically) to which major superpowers keep finding their way to a strategic position of leading the apex. Many global powers have made their work plan known over and over again, locking arms topping the list, the consequences of which are forever regrettable. China has maintained course for partnerships with every possible global member and it doesn’t come off as shocking that it is a leading economic superpower in recent decades. Africa stands strategically in the global agenda especially on major subjects such as climate change, global industrialization, and maintaining economic dominance. It is of less wonder therefore that major superpowers keep finding ways of penetrating the continent, but telling enough, is the modus operandi.

Africa member states have a trigger to leverage on now that the First Ten Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063 was implemented. The Second Ten Year plan having been launched, the implementation phase is going to detailing because of the much work that will be required by the members. Green financing is something the FOCAC members should look closely to especially in the extensive Belt and Road Initiative program to account for their contribution to the Paris Agreement net zero agenda. Now than before, the FOCAC members are more resolute partly because the 9th FOCAC Ministerial Conference came succeeding major events like the Non-Allied Members Conference where equally important pillars of global security and human rights were a topic of importance.

The economy wheel has maintained Its face but with rejuvenation on the conversation of deeper penetration of markets in China. China has without a doubt extended its influence in industrialization and product accessibility in the African markets, but what has been a constant struggle was the reciprocal ease in accessing some markets by Africa FOCAC Members. With the recent opening of imports and tariff policies by China to their economic partners, it is going to be up to the Africa FOCAC members to take advantage of China’s commitment to share technology and science so as to lessen gaps in Africa’s industrialization. Empowerment will have to remain a pillar of the cooperation to enable independence in running of affairs. Africa FOCAC Members have grappled with imbalances in financial cooperation from external powers who see them as a cash cow, but the storyline has kept drifting to one of a shared future – Trade and Commerce, Global Climate Change, Science and Technology, International Human Rights and Diplomacy, Infrastructure Partnership, Cultural and Traditional exchanges and learning, Education, and more multi phased into a singular composite. The watch remains focused to the next phase before the 10th FOCAC Ministerial Conference.

 

The writer is a Senior Research Fellow and Lawyer at the  Development Watch Center.

FOCAC 2024: Xi’s Speech Attests to China’s Commitment to a Community of Common Prosperity and a Shared Future

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By  Allawi Ssemanda

 Dear Editor, on Thursday, September 5, 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a 10-minute keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing, China. In the address entitled; “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a Community with a Shared Future,” President Xi explained that “the friendship between China and Africa transcends time and space, surmounts mountains and oceans, and passes down through generations,” and pledged China would support African countries’ endeavours in different sectors with approximately $50.70 billion.

Explaining the 24 years of the FOCAC, Xi emphasized that “China has advanced forward hand in hand with our African brothers and sisters in the spirit of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith…” He explained that China and African countries “…stand shoulder to shoulder with each other to firmly defend our legitimate rights and interests as once-in-a-century changes sweep across the world.” This he emphasized is making the two sides “stronger and more resilient together by riding the tide of economic globalization, delivering tangible benefits to billions of ordinary Chinese and Africans.”

Explaining that “modernization is an inalienable right of all countries,” Xi regretted that “the Western approach to it has inflicted immense sufferings on developing countries.” He pledged China will continue working with African countries and support the continent’s development efforts as laid out in the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which he noted will accelerate the Global South’s transformation. Explaining that “China and Africa account for one-third of the world population, Xi observed that “without our modernization, there will be no global modernization.” He thus pledged that “China is ready to deepen cooperation with Africa in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment.”

To be specific, President Xi pledged, “In the next three years, China will work with Africa to take the following ten partnership actions for modernizations to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead the Global South modernization.” The ten partnership actions will focus on; Mutual Learning among Civilizations, Trade Prosperity, Industrial Chain Cooperation, Partnership Action for Connectivity, Development Cooperation, Health sector cooperation, and supporting African countries’ Agriculture and Livelihoods. The others are; supporting People-to-People Exchanges, Green Development, and the Partnership Action for Common Security.

When critically analyzed, the ten areas President Xi mentioned that China would work with African areas “deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead modernizations,” if implemented, will not only reignite Africa’s economic growth but also drive sustainable development.

For example, President Xi listed Partnership Action for Connectivity; specifically, noting that “China is prepared to carry out 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa, promote together high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and put in place a China-Africa network featuring land-sea links and coordinated development.” China’s offer to further support Africa’s infrastructural development is a welcome move as the continent is still faced with a shortage of funding in this critical sector. He also mentioned Partnership Action for Green Development stressing that “China is ready to launch 30 clean energy projects in Africa, create a China-Africa forum on peaceful use of nuclear technology…” Put differently, Xi promised to cooperate with the continent on nuclear technology which will tackle a power deficit which has been cited as one of the major challenges delaying Africa’s industrializations efforts. A study by the WB titled “Why we need to close the infrastructure gap in sub-Saharan Africa,” underscores this, stressing that infrastructure funding gaps are hindrances to Africa’s economic take-off. The African Development Bank (ADB) notes that to reduce the continent’s infrastructure funding gaps, Africa needs a of budget $130-$170 billion annually. Therefore, China’s support in such a sector is spot-on.

On the Partnership action for development cooperation, and the partnership action for agriculture and livelihoods, President Xi pledged China’s readiness to “implement 1,000 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects. “China will provide Africa with RMB1 billion yuan (approximately $140 million) in emergency food assistance, build 100,000 projects of standardized agriculture demonstration areas in Africa,” stressed President Xi. These programs if implemented will help the continent in addressing key challenges. It is important to note that China has already been supporting livelihood programs in several African countries, Uganda inclusive. For instance, under the arrangement of the South-South Cooperation (SSC) project between China, Uganda and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), China has injected over 30 million USD is Uganda’s agriculture sector and livelihood programs.

On the Partnership Action for Trade Prosperity, Xi promised to ensure trade between the two sides improves, stressing that “China will voluntarily and unilaterally open its market wider. We have decided to give all LDCs having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 per cent tariff lines.” This in many ways will continue to support the continent’s social and economic development. Already, China for the last 15 years has been Africa’s largest trading partner. As of the end of 2023, the trade volume between China and Africa reached 282.1 billion USD.

President Xi further proposed to African leaders that “bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterizations of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.”

In conclusion, looking at China’s record of fulfilling its pledges, there is no doubt Beijing sees African countries as partners and the cooperation between the two is indeed guided by principles of mutual respect, real results and win-win cooperation. Therefore, as President Xi noted, China and Africa should rally their populations together to become a “powerful force” and write a “new chapter in peace, prosperity and progress.” This is a sure way for Africa to realize her development goals.

Dr. Allawi Ssemanda is a Senior Research Fellow at the Development Watch Centre.

FOCAC to Further Deepen China-Africa Cooperation

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Allawi Ssemanda

This week, from the 4th to the 6th of September, China will be hosting the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing. This will be the 4th FOCAC to be held as a summit where heads of states from Africa and China meet.  Some experts have described the 2024 summit as a key means to deepen cooperation between China and African countries further. The summit will be held under the theme; “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.”

The summit comes when the world is faced with unprecedented challenges such as great power politics, block formation, wars, unilateralism against multilateralism, and low economic recovery, especially in the global south due to some countries’ protectionist policies, hegemony and coercion.

On a positive note, despite the said challenges the world is facing, the summit comes at a time when China has earnestly and religiously shown willingness to work with African countries, the Global South and the entire world to forge together ways to address global challenges, advance common development and build a community of a shared future for mankind. Indeed, while promoting China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI), President Xi Jinping emphasized the value of working together, stressing that “we need to jointly build international consensus on promoting development.” Xi stressed the importance of unity thus; “It is important that we put development in front and at the center of the international agenda, deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and build political consensus to ensure everyone values development and all countries pursue cooperation together.”

It is therefore not a surprise that in the last 24 years of FOCAC, guided by the principles of sincerity, real result, amity, and shared interests, China has been clear in supporting the development agendas of African countries with Beijing’s foreign policy banner towards African countries being win-win cooperation.

During the 2021 FOCAC’s 8th ministerial conference, in his opening remarks President Xi explained that the two sides jointly prepared China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035 in which under this plan, China promised to work with African countries to fully implement the nine programs the two sides identified.

The nine programs are; supporting African countries’ medical programs with a focus on the continent’s public health, supporting African countries’ poverty reduction and agricultural development programs, supporting and African countries’ digital innovations, supporting the continent’s green development program, and supporting Africa’s peace and security programs. Others were; China supporting cultural and people-to-people exchange programs between the two sides, capacity building, investment promotion programs and supporting and promoting trade between the two sides.

Taking examples of the promotion of trade between the two sides, investment promotion, and supporting African countries’ poverty reduction programs,  one can confidently conclude that China fulfilled its previous promises. These promises have been fully implemented with visible results today. For example, at the end of 2023, the trade volume between China and Africa reached 282.1 billion USD. Also, important to note is that China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for the last 15 years in a row.

To further support African countries’ agriculture and boost the trade between the two sides, in 2022, China announced preferential Tariff Treatment for several African countries. As of June 2024, China granted zero tariffs on 98% of tariff items from at least 27 African countries including Uganda. Also, Beijing signed bilateral investment promotion and protection agreements with at least 34 African countries. All these measures are meant to support and facilitate trade between the two sides. Under similar arrangements, today, many African countries have access to China’s “green channel” allowing more African products access to Chinese markets.

Regarding capacity building which is point number 7 under FOCAC’s nine pragmas, China promised to support Africa’s human capital by supporting the education sector. As of today, in Uganda, at the end of 2021, China has provided over 5,000 short-term training opportunities for Ugandans in fields such as; agriculture, medical care, public administration, computer science and infrastructure. This is on top of offering over 500 scholarship opportunities ranging from bachelors to PhDs to Ugandans.

Broadly, under FOCAC programs, more African scholars have benefited. For example, during the 2015 FOCAC summit, China offered 30,000 scholarships to African students to pursue higher education in Chinese universities. This was followed by another 50,000 scholarship offers announced by President Xi during the 2018 FOCAC Summit held in Beijing.

As observed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2024 economic growth forecast, China’s contribution to global growth is paramount. “The very fact that China is also bigger, means it has a bigger footprint in the rest of the world.  An increase in the trade surplus might be small from the Chinese perspective, but it could be big from the perspective of the rest of the world,” noted IMF’s Division Chief researcher, Jean-Marc.

Looking at the fruits coming from the last 24 years of FOCAC, one can conclude that FOCAC is a sure way of jointly building a high level of China-Africa Community of Shared Future.

Allawi Ssemanda, PhD,  is to a Senior Research Fellow at the Development Watch Center.

Does Climate Change Matter Anymore? EU’s China Fear a Reverse Gear Regarding EVs

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By Moshi

In recent months a battle over the electric vehicle market has been raging between the EU and China. The former asserts that Chinese auto companies in the Electric Vehicles sector are heavily subsidized by the government which has given them an edge over their European counterparts. Moreover, the EU is weary of the cheap EVs being sold by Chinese manufactures within the EU market, effectively outcompeting domestic producers and putting a strain on the EU EV industry. The push for punitive measures against Beijing is largely being led by France and Spain.

On the other hand, Germany has been reluctant and cautioned its fellow EU members to trade carefully around the issue of imposing tariffs as high as 38% on Chinese EV makers. Berlin is well aware of the counter effects this could have on its own auto manufactures were Beijing to retaliate in kind. Germany autos such as Mercedes and BMW enjoy a significant market share in China and would not wish to upset this highly profitable arrangement. Luckily, for Berlin, Beijing has not yet committed to responding in kind and has only threatened to retaliate by imposing tariffs on EU pork and Wine exports, a move that has French Cognac producers worried according to a report by Reuters.

Calculations based on the Kiel institute’s Kite Model indicate significant changes resulting from EU total tariffs on China’s EVs which could lead to a reduction of imports of EVs from china to around 25 percent (a value of about $4billion).

With the current political climate and global political realities, it is only logical to deduce that the EV battle is tied into the overall trend of worsening ties between the collective west and Beijing. Spearheaded by Washington, the west has been on a steady trend of the so-called de-risking of their relations with China. The once outspoken champions of globalization are quietly and nervously retreating back into the familiar shell of protectionism when faced with actual competition. It is not China’s fault that their technology is well advanced and that they are able to produce highly sought after-planet saving goods cheaply.

Even more importantly, this trade war on Electric Vehicles has lasting negative impacts on climate transition. Tariffs on cheap Chinese EVs will only make the cars less affordable. EU manufactures make EVs at a high cost of production and this cost is transferred onto the consumer and this is what has made the average EU citizen to purchase cheaper EVs from china, if this choice is taken away, then it automatically leads to a situation where less people use EVs.

Germany has tried to point this issue out in vain. The country had set a goal of having 5o million EVs on the road by 2030, clearly with this trend this may not be achievable.  It comes off as hypocritical to pressure and persuade the rest of the world to transition to greener economies while the west backtracks on these commitments because domestic politics are inconvenienced by the idea of saving the entire planet. It is even more absurd due to the fact that Global south countries were largely dismissed when they tried to make similar claims about the hasty transition to green economies. They were constantly told the planet is at risk and the transition is a noble cause. Shouldn’t the EU also take one for the team and look beyond domestic politics and aim for the greater good? Is there any wonder that the so-called rules based order is increasingly being challenged?

The answers I must say, depend on who makes the rules. The rules based order determined that globalization was a good thing and now that it threatens their pockets, the rules have changed and only certain kinds of globalization are acceptable with those that are not western driven cast on the bad side of the globalization spectrum.

The politics in the west can be quite discombobulating, especially for those in the Global South. The rules keep changing and it is always in favor of the rule makers. The trade war brewing around EVs is just a symptom of a much worse growing disease.

We are living in a time where simple media narratives and rhetorical tricks no longer fool the masses and the growing number of literate young people all around the world now more than ever recognize trickery, deceit and hypocrisy when they see it. The EV question only has one answer, if they are good for the planet, then they should be affordable for all, either we live in a global village with common, fair and just rules or we live in a jungle of might makes right.

The writer is a senior research fellow with the Development Watch Center.

Providing affordable housing for slum dwellers: Lessons from China

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By Earnest Jovan Talwana

Statistics from the UN Habitat 2023 (a UN agency focused on human settlements and urbanization) show that Uganda is among the fastest urbanizing countries at a rate 4.5% per annum. The report predicts that Uganda’s urban population may nearly double by 2030 from what it was in 2010. It is also remarkable that Uganda is home to the second youngest population in the world, after Niger. Part of the factors driving the country’s rapid urbanization is the youth dividend, which could both be a transformative or disruptive phenomenon. For the increasing youth population to be a force for good, Uganda needs to manage sustainable urbanization, and avoid sinking into the turbulent criminality that comes with slum-dwelling youthful energy. The goal Uganda should set, perhaps pursue through bodies like KCCA, municipality councils, and the Ministry of lands, housing & urban development is to promote livable urban areas that are organized, productive, sustainable and inclusive for both abled and disabled persons.

For purposes of benchmarking, Uganda could look to China, one of the most rapidly urbanizing and industrializing countries. China’s blueprint to solve the challenge of slums involved designing three main types of affordable housing i.e., public rental housing, government-subsidized rental housing and homes with shared ownership.The Chinese government provided public rental housing to low-income families in urban areas, whereas the government-subsidized rental housing was designed to cater for the new urban residents and young people.

 

Combo photo taken on May 16, 2017 shows Liu Xinhong, 58, in front of his old house (up) and new house (bottom) at Fanyang Village of Wuzhishan City, south China’s Hainan Province. New house was constructed by the government. 

To fund the housing projects, both the Local and Central government provided most funding, while private companies such as Vanke, a large residential real estate developer in China also stepped in. Last year in November, China’s Ministry of Finance released 42.5 billion yuan ($5.87 billion) in subsidies for 2024 for urban affordable housing projects. The central bank of China also provides lending facilities for affordable housing. This enables commercial banks to lend to state-owned enterprises to buy unsold apartments at lower prices and convert them into affordable homes.

The government of China is also so effective at service delivery that they planned to provide 8.7 million units of government-subsidised rental housing and by the end of 2023, they had built more than half of the planned units.

For a country with 78% percent of the youth unemployed, Uganda has potential to turn the numbers of youth unemployment into youthful cheap labor to build homes for themselves. It is hard to imagine how transformative such a labor force would be, given that Kampala city alone accounts for 41 percent of Uganda’s urban population and produces 40 percent of Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A lot more economic value could be produced from Kampala city if the majority of the youth were not idlers in slums. They form the raw material for transformative labor if the government utilized them creatively on such projects as the construction of affordable homes in slum areas. Uganda currently has over 200 urban areas, making it not only necessary but also urgent for the government to improve urbanization, promote equitable economic growth in these marginalized geographies of society, and secure livelihoods of the youth.

Our neighbor, Kenya, is among some African countries which have benefited from not only the knowledge but also the support of China in developing luxurious low-cost housing projects for slum dwellers. China financed the Samara Housing Project in Kiambu county, and it is expected that close to 2,000 housing units and a mall will be built for the community. Uganda could also partner with Chinese real estate developers to build affordable homes for our people who are living in squalid conditions in the many ghettos especially around Kampala.

We need to integrate slum upgrading plans  into our national policy, and implement them with the urgency they deserve. Slum upgrading should be part of the country’s medium- and long-term planning and development goals.

Since the majority of Uganda’s urban residents dwell in slums, they are predisposed to poor sanitation due to lack of enough social amenities for hygiene such as toilets, rubbish bins, etc. Slums are also high risk areas for contagious diseases and could be breeding areas for  epidemics. It is therefore in our interest to improve living conditions of the urban poor, and doing so would benefit the whole country.

In the end, there are facts we cannot overlook anymore. For instance, it is a fact that Kampala has grown over four times since the 1980s, but its planning and structure have not changed. It was originally meant to host 300,000 people yet is now home to almost 2 million people. This under development in capacity and over development in function of the city has structural and socio-economic constraints for the greater Kampala area. We can change the course of things partly by supplying quality, low-cost housing for slum dwellers and in the process identifying opportunities for job creation and investment.

The author is a research fellow at the Development Watch Centre.

 

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation 9: The Journey Over The Last Two Decades

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By Musanjufu Benjamin Kavubu.

From September 4th to 6th  the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will take place in Beijing. This comes at a very critical time for South South-Cooperation, the world economy has slowed down mainly because of the impacts of the last Pandemic and the ongoing 54 major conflicts around the world that affect Africa and China’s supply chain on the Geopolitical discourse.

FOCAC 9 comes at a time when African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is taking root and its backbone the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in many forms makes a decade milestone. The FOCAC summit also comes at a time when the BRICS have become formidable on the global scale and Africa is now very much involved in the new format that is driving multipolarity.

In many aspects, FOCAC 9 will be a momentous summit, in the year 2000 the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation started in Beijing with a ministerial meeting and it was followed by multi-year efforts by African diplomats to formalize the new relationship, in 2003 FOCAC 2 was hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Africa’s political capital and China announced the first Zero-tariff trade measures for Africa. It also marked the first time cultural exchange started being a target area. In 2006 FOCAC moved back to Beijing and it was held at summit level resulting in a $5 billion in financing from China that was geared toward agricultural exchange as a focus area and in 2006 the China-Africa Development Fund was also put in place.

The next FOCAC was back in the African continent in 2009 in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt with more formalization of the cooperation area, with greater attention on the African development agenda including training and there was $10 billion in funding that was put in place for the Continent.  FOCAC 5 was in Beijing in 2012 and with a number of conflicts largely fuelled by Western interests on the African continent and posing as a stumbling block for development, peace and security was the focal area of cooperation and China put in place $ 20 Billion in funding the endeavour.

In Johannesburg South Africa in 2015 FOCAC embraced the famous Belt and Road Initiative of President Xi that has seen infrastructural developments across the continent and the initial investment that was put in place at that SUMMIT by China was $ 69 billion in funding and it’s fruits are evident today across the Continent, from ports on the East African coast to the Standard Gauge Rail that snakes its way into the interior and new road networks like the Kampala-Entebbe Express highway.

As a tradition the next event in 2018 was in Beijing and the formal integration of the FOCAC into the BRI, agricultural modernisation was the key area of cooperation and more $ 60 Billion in funding was put in place.

FOCAC 8 was special and it was in Dakar Senegal in 2021 happening at the tail end of the COVID-19 Pandemic and it was a semi-virtual event. This saw health and inter-parliamentary diplomacy as Focus areas. And for this meeting there was no single funding package; instead the $ 40 billion put in place was to be spread across a wide range of different categories.

It’s at this back foot that we head into the 9th FOCAC on the 4th of September 2024 in Beijing and we expect agricultural trade for Africa’s part to be the focus point. Agritech cooperation is something that is lacking on the African continent and China has the resources and experience to make this end. Over the past years, diversification through Africa exporting to China for food security purposes will most likely take priority at FOCAC 9 as Africa seeks to move up the value chain. Africa’s agricultural potential production still has space for expanding and more countries can find thriving markets in China. China is already doing a great job in this aspect. To support Africa’s agricultural modernisation, Beijing has sent over 500 agricultural experts to Africa and provided more than 9,000 training opportunities for agricultural experts from the continent.

Other key areas are going to be climate resilience and we have seen China in the past collaborate with countries to develop satellite systems aimed at improving weather forecasts and other forms of scanning to make agriculture more climate-resilient.

As Africa now seeks to export more to China, there is a need to industrialize and Chinese firms are going to be asked to come into the African arena at FOCAC since the BRI has laid the groundwork for that to happen smoothly.

People to people exchange through training and the many scholarships will be another major focus area for cooperation at FOCAC, technology transfer and employment pipeline will take center stage and many African delegations heading to Beijing will be products of China in terms of education.

China’s partnership with Africa is crucial for our infrastructure, and energy sectors. FOCAC isn’t just about building relationships on a diplomatic level, it’s a strategic platform that’s shaping Africa’s role on the global stage.

Over the years, FOCAC has evolved from focusing mainly on economic ties in 2000 to becoming a broader platform for Africa-China relations. Now, Africa is setting the agenda when it comes to working with China, especially in areas like green energy, our youthful population, and our rich mineral resources. China plays a key role in helping us with mass electrification and industrialisation through technology transfer and this is the basis of South-South cooperation.

The September summit comes at a time when the trade between China and Africa is booming. For the last 15 years in a row, China has been Africa’s largest trading partner. In 2023, the trade between the two sides reached a hooping USD 282.1 billion. As we look ahead to FOCAC 2024 on the 4th of September,  this moment is set to be a critical time in our relationship as Africa with China. It has the potential to bring significant progress in trade, industrial development, and sustainable cooperation. For Africa, the key to long-term benefits will be our ability to shape and influence the agenda in this partnership.

The writer is a  research fellow at the Development Watch Centre.

Is China a Democracy?

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By Ernest Jovan Talwana

One of the hardest – and perhaps most controversial definitions in political literature today is democracy. What is democracy? Who decides what is democratic? Is there a universal value attached to democracy? Do all people, from all cultures, from all histories, and from all social-economic conditions, share common perspectives on what is or is not “democratic?” Is democracy about the processes of governance or the purposes and/or results of governance?

These are relevant and hard questions to settle in our contemporary political world. China is an interesting country to discuss on this topic because it is internationally considered to be among the least democratic countries in the world. (Here, I use the word “internationally” loosely to mostly mean the Western international community.) Out of 176 countries indexed in 2023, China ranked the 172nd least democratic country in the world, with a label of being a “Hard Autocracy.” This is a claim worth inquiring into, and consequently deconstructing. Often, when we talk about a country being “democratic,” we are referring to the values we cherish and thus attach to democracy. But those values are neither universal nor permanently fixed. They are values appreciated differently in different societies.

Every society’s experience, both historical and contemporary, shapes its national value systems, which inform its politics. As such, it would be misleading to assess every country’s political system based on the yardstick of Western understanding on democracy and autocracy. In fact, forcing a particular society’s political-value-standard onto every other society, is the quintessential embodiment of undemocratic behaviour. Therefore, before we understand whether China is a democracy or not, we need to first inquire into whether the label of China being a “Hard Autocracy” is from the billion Chinese people or from the mind of a guy working for a think tank or government agency in a Western capital somewhere.

Indeed, some studies challenge some western main scholarships findings on this topic. For example, Tony Saich, a Daewoo Professor of International Affairs and director of the Ash Centre explains that their 15 years quest to build a firmer understanding of Chinese opinion “found that compared to public opinion patterns in the U.S., in China there is very high satisfaction with the central government” with 95.5% of respondents saying “were either “relatively satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with Beijing. Compared to Gallup’s findings which revealed that only 38% of U.S citizens were satisfied with the American federal government, and aware that democracy is about majority, one can conclude that to brand China “hard autocracy” is nothing but a smear campaign.

China is a very different society from the United States of America, Britain, Norway, or even Uganda. The Chinese have diverse opinions on many things—just like all people in all places—but they share a common set of ideals, interests, or values that they pursue and want to realize. Their ideals shape what is democratic for them, and it doesn’t matter whether that ultimate thing they want out of politics is similar to what Americans or Norwegians want out of their politics.

China has a different set of prerequisites that its citizens follow to both choose and also hold public officials to account. As long as those prerequisites are met within the Chinese system, that process is democratic for them. The problem comes when the world’s all-knowing people from the West criticise the system established and upheld by the billion Chinese people because it doesn’t appeal to the political taste of the handful of millions of Europeans and Americans.

No one other than Chinese citizens has the political right to question China’s intrinsic brand of democracy. It is likely that citizens of Western countries value their democracy because it serves their interests and upholds their ideals and value systems. Those values might differ from what people in other countries, even in the Western world, or within different states in the United States want. But that doesn’t challenge the “democraticness” of their democracy. This principle should be applied when analysing China’s democracy too.

In China, the political administration developed what they conceptualised as a “whole-process people’s democracy.” The Chinese government translated this concept into relevant democratic values, which its public institutions are bound by and which the government strives to realize. China defines the whole-process people’s democracy as one that “integrates process-oriented democracy with results-oriented democracy, procedural democracy with substantive democracy, direct democracy with indirect democracy, and people’s democracy with the will of the state.” They understand this to be a model of socialist democracy that covers all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of society. For them, it is “a true democracy that works.”

If what the Chinese wanted out of democracy was improved standards of living, their government over the last four decades has achieved that. Who can question whether that is not democracy for them? It is understood that in the Western world, a country is known to be democratic if citizens rise up frequently to challenge government authority. But this understanding of social behaviour blinds one to the nuance that within traditional Chinese philosophy, the preservation of social harmony is what is considered respectable order, not disruptive behavior. As such, Chinese citizens could be getting more from their government by maintaining the orderly political contestation that the ostentatious political activity experienced in the West.

We need to understand that democracy is not a decorative piece of ribbon picked and worn by every country to show off. It is rather an instrument through which public concerns are addressed. As long as China addresses the concerns of the Chinese people, that is democracy for them. The level of efficiency and order in the Chinese government are not questioned often. That is a big vote for the trust the citizens have in the democracy of China.

The author is a research fellow at the Development Watch Center.

 

Harness China-Africa Collaboration on Artificial Intelligence

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By Ernest Jovan Talwana

Current economic estimations project the value of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry globally to reach $16 trillion by 2030. It is also approximated that AI, if well harnessed, could grow Africa’s economy by an additional $1.5 trillion. Given that as of June 2024, the estimated nominal GDP of Africa is $3.1 trillion, a 1.5 addition would go a long way in improving our economic standing.

That said, it brings me great sadness to often discuss Africa along the lines of “seeking help” or as diplomatically coined, “partnering” with developed countries to pursue the continent’s development goals. But given our several immense development challenges, and the nature of the world’s current scientific and technological areas of innovation, partnerships seem to be the most realistic means available.

Even then, we should evaluate our continent’s contribution to this new frontier of technological possibilities, which will dramatically alter the course of all human endeavor.

When discussing strategic partnerships for Africa, the competition between the West (United States) and China unpreventably shows up. It is not Africa’s making to be in such a position. Still, it is our call to always choose wisely which partners we embrace to negotiate our development journey, particularly in line with AI development and implementation on the continent.

Several American tech giants have already implemented AI-driven projects in Africa. For instance, IBM has set up research labs in Kenya and South Africa directed towards healthcare diagnostics, precision agriculture, and financial services. Google opened an AI research center in Ghana where among other projects they develop and apply natural language processing (NLP) technologies to understand, interpret, and generate human language specific to Africa’s linguistic diversity. Cisco, which has a center in Nigeria, also initiated AI training programs to develop smart city solutions using AI technologies.

However, the West’s investments in Africa usually do not give African countries the confidence required for long-term, sustainable reliance. Even the countries of choice for these investments already show a bias in investment destinations for American capital. It will be hard for Africa to transform if our leadership systems are under constant questioning and screening for legitimacy – which risks cutting the taps of investment cooperation whenever a country’s democratic credentials don’t appeal to our Western partners’ standards. This is why I have limited faith in these ambitious AI projects by the West in those few African countries.

On the other hand, during this year’s China-Africa internet summit, China and Africa enthusiastically discussed collaboration on AI. Following the event, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released a statement on China-Africa artificial intelligence cooperation calling for: strengthening of dialogue and cooperation mechanisms on AI policy, technology, industry, application, governance, and best practices; promoting technological research, development, and application within Chinese and African enterprises, universities, and scientific research institutions, in fields such as big data analysis, machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision; promoting industrial cooperation, development, and application of AI in, among others, agriculture, medical care, education, and urban management, as well as supporting digital infrastructure; carrying out talent exchange and capacity building, including the provision of online courses and professional training; and building strong network and data security barriers, including the development of auditable, supervised, traceable, and trustworthy AI technologies, as well as preventing abuse of AI and cyberattacks. These are very inspiring areas of collaboration for Africa, where development in AI is still nascent.

The disappointing bit is that whereas China already articulated such a brilliant memo on AI cooperation with Africa, neither a single African country nor the African Union has designed a similar policy. It is an unpromising sign. China has published its policy on how to cooperate with us on AI, but we don’t have a policy on how we shall cooperate with it. Why should we be docile partners on matters involving our development interests and ultimate survival? Are we always going to sleepwalk through history?

It is not hard to realise that the integration of AI in Africa will potentially impact diverse sectors as already highlighted. Why is it that only a handful of countries such as Egypt, Rwanda and Mauritius have adopted national AI strategies? What is Uganda’s AI strategy for instance?

Our governments should develop these strategies if we are to enable African innovators to leverage Chinese expertise in developing AI-driven solutions for our development challenges. China is the world’s leading AI innovator with 61.1% of globally registered AI patents while the U.S. accounts for only 20%. Why are we not utilising our partnership with a forerunner like China to participate in the happening AI revolution?

The author is a research fellow at the Development Watch Centre.

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