On March 17th 2025, the Development Watch Centre (DWC) in partnership with her sister organizations (Sino-Uganda Research Centre, Centre for Contemporary China-Africa Studies, and Centre for BRICS Studies Uganda) hosted a half-day symposium at Fairway Hotel in Kampala that analysed the implications of the newly adopted 15th Five-Year Plan for Uganda hence the theme “Strategic Alignment for Prosperity: Deepening China-Uganda Ties in the 15th Five-Year Plan Era.”
Appreciating how immense China’s contribution towards Africa’s development in the last couple of decades has been, and strongly believing that this fact is not about to change, the underlying thread to most of what was said at the event tied things back to what the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) 2026-2030 policy framework means for Uganda― particularly as it relates to the country’s fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV).
In his address therefore, H.E FAN Xuecheng the Chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Uganda assured Kampala as well as other African countries that his homeland viewed their prosperity as integral to the welfare of her domestic economy. The Diplomat went on to explain that as such, Beijing would continue to position her strengths in trade, green energy, science and technology etc. in ways that best set the ground for their development.
The Day’s Guest of Honour, the Managing Director of Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), Mr David Winston Agaba concurred citing that China’s cooperation with Africa is further bolstered by history given that the Asian super power has always been cordial in her involvements with the continent going as far back as the dispensation of colonialism in which the attitude of western countries was to openly rampage and pillage Africa. The UBC manager then went on to express enthusiasm for DWC’s work saying that it was vital that researchers continue to actively engage with the most pressing issues of our times.
Coming prior to the speeches of the two dignitaries, DWC’s Executive Director Dr Allawi Ssemanda spoke about the unfortunate state of foreign relations that Uganda finds itself in decrying how possible it can be that our leadership has been boxed into partnerships that expressly couch their terms in language that points to the nations on the other side of things as the masters on whom Kampala is at their mercies. In contrast, the academic asserted that China’s win-win model whose spirit guides the 15th five-year plan was far much better all things considered.
Two guests joined the conversation virtually. First is Prof Timothy Kerswell, Distinguished Research Fellow at DWC who laid the ground for the day’s topics. Addressing the conference from Australia, he explained that the Two Sessions was the most important function on China’s political calendar emphasizing that this year’s National People’s Congress and National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference meetings were even more so because they drew Beijing’s governance road map for the next five years.
Dr Vuyo Mjimba the Chief Research Specialist in the Human Sciences Research Council’s Africa Institute of South Africa is the other having made his presentation live from Johannesburg via zoom. Among other things, the South African scholar intimated that it was high time to view research and policy as inseparable cautioning that a lot of the dilemmas that plague Africa had something to do with the fact that very little attention was given to collecting and disseminating critical data. He then pointed out that given China’s track record of respecting Africa’s priorities, African Union member states can seek to synchronize their synergies with her through sectors where they have the comparative advantage e.g. minerals and natural resources.
The symposium closed with two panel sessions starting with one constituted by Hon. Simon Mulongo an international relations consultant together with Counsel Ssemambo Rashid of Ssemambo and Ssemambo Advocates. The latter centred his presentation on the Global Governance Initiative expressing admiration for the reforms that China has been trying to push thereunder not least, the proposal to reimagine the United Nations’ position. The Advocate posited that Beijing’s example was a breath of fresh air for the developing world especially if one looks at the prevailing attitude of other global powers. To illustrate his point, he quoted President’s Trump’s latest remarks on Cuba (i.e. “Taking Cuba, I mean, whether I free it, take it. I could do anything I want with it.”).
Mr Arthur Atuha’s presentation was the very last. Therein, he shared about the promise that lies in the 15th five-year plan for Ugandan export industry. Understood well, the DWC Research Fellow contended that the prospects of NDP IV could be attuned to harness projections of increased consumption in Beijing for the next half a decade.
There you have it, the overwhelming consensus from the day was that the 15th five-year plan had a lot in it for Uganda and that if the moment is seized by Kampala, a lot of the country’s goals set under NDP IV would be realized come 2030.