Tag: China 74th Anniversary

By Moshi Israel

In 1949, then Chinese leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China. A new era in China’s history begun under the stewardship of the Communist Party of China (CPC). A new kind of socialism with Chinese Characteristics took root. A new vision for a better China was still in its infancy and the building blocks were placed on top of one another, one by one. Fast forward, seventy-four years later, and the Peoples Republic of China is an entirely new country, with unprecedented development and a lot of potential for even more growth. The CPC revolutionized the thinking of the Chinese people, and placed them on a path of modernisation, that has been dubbed a miracle by many.

Several factors have contributed to China’s development, prominent among them being strategic government planning, service to the common people and rapid industrialization driven by a unique brand of political organization and mobilisation by the CPC. Opening up of China to the rest of the world put the Country on a healthy development path and by and large the CPC has managed to rid most Chinese of the colonial mindset that has held many developing countries back.

China today is a world giant that has put the rest of the world on a new agenda that emphasizes win-win partnerships, mutual benefits and peaceful development, with the aim of achieving a truly multipolar world. China has created the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that has taken the world by storm by increasing connectedness of the global trade routes with the aim of doing mutually beneficial business. Furthermore, the country has published several white papers laying out China’s vision on the Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). These initiatives, are China’s vision for a better world of today and tomorrow. They aim to achieve the ultimate Chinese ideals of cooperation and peaceful development.

During the celebrations of the 74th anniversary of the founding of China, organised by the Embassy of China in Uganda at Sheraton Hotel, I witnessed a profound display of China’s good will and respectful cooperation with our country – Uganda. There was a marvellous display of cultural fusion and a profound display of how Chinese people have adapted to the Ugandan scene. Both Chinese and Ugandans performed together cultural dances and songs that revealed to me how far our relations with China have come.

The speeches by China and Uganda’s government officials reflected on the already existing cooperation between the two countries and the potential for future engagements. China has proved to be a reliable partner to Uganda especially at a time when the latter is facing an impasse with western governments and their institutions. The issues of same sex relations and the construction of the EACOP pipeline has put Uganda at odds with western powers with the small African country courting the ire of powerful western regimes on grounds of ideological differences.

On a more positive note, the 74^th celebrations of the founding of the PRC should serve to remind us of only the good times and encourage us to look further into the future when it comes to Uganda’s relations with China. Through trade and cultural cooperation, Uganda is already an established friend of China. The latter has taken steps to educate all developing countries on what it has been doing that has set it apart from other developing nations without following western models of development.

China is now among the leading countries in sustainable development issues, infrastructure development, trade and digital development. It is the duty of all countries seeking true independence and sustainable development to probe the ‘how and why?’. This is a point the deputy Ambassador, His Excellency Fan Xuencheng emphasized during his speech; China’s development under the Chinese context. That’s the mantra the Ugandan people should accommodate and practice.

As an African, I think there’s much we can learn from China’s development path and apply what we think can work for us. Perhaps, one can only hope that during the next anniversary of the founding of the PRC, that by that time, most of African countries will have taken the necessary steps to put their respective countries on a unique development path with African characteristics. Our Achilles heel lies is rampant corruption, a vice that our partners in China have fought vehemently and defeated.

The African mantra should be the undisputed theme of Adopting, Improvising and overcoming especially under current tensions with the west. Thank goodness, we have an ally like China to learn from.

Moshi Israel is a senior research fellow at the Development Watch Centre.

 

 

 

By Steven Akabwayi

On Friday the 29th September, China started a week-long celebration dubbed the golden week. It is marked the 74th anniversary since Mao Zedong the chairman of the Communist Party of China (CPC) formally proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.

Since then, relations between China and Africa have evolved considerably amidst the ideological struggle that culminated in the 1960s between the US, Russia, and China.

Though not strong ties as it is now, starting from the early 1980s, China has always placed great importance to relations with African countries. Arguably, at the start of the start of the millennia China’s relations with Africa and the rest of global south started growing at a speed never seen before.

China is currently Africa’s largest trading partner, experts observe that trade between the US and Africa has been declining over the past years, this has been largely attributed to China’s warm approach to Africa over the years.

The Sino-Africa relations were established based on a win-win philosophy, under this philosophy, China vowed to treat Africa with the spirit of sincerity, genuine cooperation, and mutual respect which has been a thread linking China and Africa for more than the past seven decades.

Western countries on the other hand have failed to recognize Africa as their equal resulting in unfair treatment and lack of mutual respect, the West still views Africa as a place of humanitarian crisis and a battleground for ideological competition between global powers. It is not a surprise that in May 2000, United Kingdom’s Magazine the Economist described Africa as a “Hopeless Continent.” Today, one can safely argue that with China’s win-win cooperation philosophy guided by President Xi Jinping’s promoted principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the principles of pursuing the greater good and shared interests, China-Africa relations have seen the continent become the centre of attraction and that some western countries see it as a battle ground for the west and China.

Just like a famous internet meme reads, “When China is in Africa, it’s talking about trade but when the US is in Africa, it’s talking about China”.

Since its founding in 1949, the PRC’s role in Africa has defied and continued to expose Western-engineered stereotypes and fallacies that intend to blackmail China-Africa relations as a one-sided favor for China.

Beijing has continued to express itself as a long-established diplomatic partner and key investor in the African continent for the past 74 years.

In one of his interviews in 2022, Uganda’s president Kaguta Museveni demystified allegations commonly peddled by Western countries that Beijing expands its influence by drawing smaller economies into a debt trap.

“Africa has been having problems for the last 600 years due to the slave trade, colonialism, neocolonialism, and none of it was from China,” he said.

Since the 1960s, Uganda and China have enjoyed deep and sound diplomatic relations, the two countries are glued together by strong economic relations which have been significantly bolstered by the Belt and Road Initiative in the past decade increasing trade between the two countries to about a billion USD.

President Museveni further hailed China for having maintained tight coordination and collaboration with Uganda for over 60 years through numerous joint projects.

China has invested in all major sectors that are critical for Africa’s economic transformation and integration drive.

Chinese investments in Africa encompass infrastructure development such as roads notably the Entebbe- Kampala express highway in Uganda, the Railway line connecting Adis Ababa and Djibouti, the Mombasa -Nairobi standard gauge railway, Karuma dam in Uganda, telecommunication networks among other infrastructures.

These projects have paved the way for years of commercial and economic engagements throughout the continent.

Chinese state-owned agencies and financing institutions have always acted as a friend in need for African countries by supplying soft loans to African countries on critical projects that require heavy funding that cannot not contained in most African countries’ national budgets.

After most Western financing institutions recently pulling out from funding the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) whose plan is to transport crude oil from the Albertine region to the Indian Ocean, a Chinese company stepped in to save the project.

Mrs Irene Bateebe permanent secretary under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development in Uganda confirmed that Sinosure, the Chinese state-owned provider of export credit insurance is working with Exim Bank to provide the largest funding for the pipeline.

As one way of ensuring food security in Uganda, China has supported agricultural projects geared towards agricultural modernization. Under the FOA-China Uganda South-South Corporation Project, Uganda’s agriculture ministry has been supported in quality seed breeding and cultivation of a variety of quality seeds such as rice, sorghum, maize among others. These have been availed to various districts to support smallholder farmers.

As China aims at a multipolar world and reform of global governance as opposed to America’s hegemony, Beijing has found it necessary to maintain developing countries as a bedrock and strategic focus of its foreign policy until the existing capability gap between third-world and developed nations is narrowed.

China has recently also shown unrivaled support for the African Continental Free Trade Area and AU’s accession to the G20 by pressuring Western countries that dominated the club.

China’s foreign policy to Africa has won the hearts of many African leaders given its nonexpansionist and conflict-averse approach. This has enabled it to foster a community based on cooperative security, common development, and political inclusiveness for the past decades since its founding.

For years, China has developed solid ties with African governments, this is demonstrated by the quality and number of high-level exchange visits, and support China receives from African countries at the United Nations and other international forums.

Steven Akabwayi is a Research Fellow at the Development Watch Centre.

 

By Alan Collins Mpewo

The 74^th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China is a significant date for both China and Africa. It was on October 1^st 1949 when then Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong announced the creation of People’s Republic of China (PRC). This big announcement which in many ways resulted into the birth of today’s modern China came as a result of the Chinese Communist Party defeating the Nationalists in the civil war, a development that saw the Communist Party of China (CPC) control over China the country fully recognised as nationalists surrendered and a few others fled. While the announcement was seen as China’s, if critically analysed, it was also significant for Africa, as it signaled the beginning of a new era of Chinese history and Africa’s relations with China. Since that time, the Peoples Republic of China has become one of Africa’s most important partners, providing much-needed economic and political support. The relationship between China and Africa has grown steadily over the past few decades, and today the two sides enjoy close cooperation on a range of issues.

The 74th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China thus holds great significance for both China and Africa. It is a day to celebrate the strong ties between our two countries and to look forward to even closer cooperation in the future. But 74 years is not a disposable feat. Since the 1’st of October in the not so past 74 years, the major message that has been sang by the People’s Republic of China has been independence for its partners – Africa states and otherwise.

For African communities, the 74^th anniversary of the founding of China marks not only a celebration of Chinese culture, but also provides a glimpse into what the future of African-Chinese exchanges and collaborations could achieve. Through the continued development of enriching bilateral ties, both sides stand to benefit greatly as the years go by. It can not be said in tire that the under the belt and road initiative, China has made an incredible impact on infrastructure in many African countries, with Shanghai based construction engineering firm China State Construction Engineering Corporation building many new rail networks, roads, schools, and hospitals across the continent. This has no doubt had profound impacts on local communities, who now have access to regular healthcare, education, and transportation that wouldn’t have been so easily available without China’s intervention.

The People’s Republic of China has also been an important trading partner for many African countries, particularly those in Southern and Eastern Africa. China’s entrance into the African market has made it a valuable trading partner, with Chinese goods being shipped in to supplement the continent’s domestic markets, creating much-needed jobs and revenues for producers, the distributors, and sellers alike.

For much of the past century, China and its people have made a concerted effort to strengthen relations with African countries, providing aid, opportunities for investment and mutual growth, and trade agreements. This relationship has only grown over time, with officials from both sides recognizing the importance of bolstering cooperation between African and Chinese communities. As such, the founding of the People’s Republic of China represents a landmark moment for Africans, providing hope that the future will bring great economic, political, and social progress.

Besides all the outstanding achievements reached thus far by the two bloc partners, the caution of consciousness has to be elevated past lands and generations ahead. The human race is much more than the political baits that present themselves. Colonialism didn’t end in the final period of the 1900’s. The phenomenon is multifaceted, and presently comes in large scale neocolonialism. The origin of the celebration by the PRC is based on the yearn for independence, and ultimately no other. Independence is not one to be achieved without much effort, and so while it is understandable that there has been much complacency by those supposed to propel the fight, there should be no compromise to achieving the ultimate goals. BRICS has taken out a line of agreement against the leading imperialism and double standards, an initiative that includes a push from China.

Therefore, with the birth of the FOCAC was a clear indication of respect to each State’s sovereignty through partnerships and mutual benefits, it is of no doubt that the relations have attracted more new entrants each year that succeeds another. Uganda has been one of the greatest beneficiaries, and one of the oldest to relate with PRC diplomatically having passed the 60 years mark of diplomacy not so long ago. There is therefore no need to overemphasize what the two blocs have achieved and what stands as an open door yet to be used. But along the way, still stands obstacles of imperialism and self-seeking to navigate past. So, while this period is to be hoisted with significance on the past, it can sincerely be hoped that it will shape the future for the two blocs to more successes.

Alan Collins Mpewo, Senior Research Fellow, Development Watch Centre.