Editor's note: President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that the joint pursuit of modernization by China and Africa will set off a wave of modernization in the Global South and open a new chapter for building a community with a shared future for humanity. Six experts share their views with China Daily's Pan Yixuan on the significance of China-Africa cooperation in the new era as emphasized in the keynote address during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Excerpts follow：

Green development has huge potential

On Thursday, the FOCAC announced the Partnership Action for Green Development under which China is ready to launch 30 clean energy projects in Africa.

The demand for green development in Africa is significant, as the continent faces notable climate adaptation challenges despite potentially lower emissions compared to other regions. Therefore, Africa needs to focus on two main aspects — climate adaptation and innovative capacity building. This includes enhancing urban governance resilience, ensuring existing projects are climate-adaptive and resilient and fostering industrial cooperation in areas such as exports and new energy development.

When it comes to climate change and renewable sustainable development, the paths are limited, with one key aspect being emissions reduction through technological upgrades and energy efficiency improvements. The process of energy substitution involves using more renewable energy to replace traditional fossil fuels. Cooperation between China and Africa aims to accelerate this transition, not solely through aid but through collaborative efforts.

With the European Union's introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, climate and trade have become closely intertwined, where carbon considerations restrict trade and reshape trade rules. In this context, cooperation between China and Africa, as well as the development of both regions, aims to break free from constraints that could potentially subject developing countries to new carbon-based trade restrictions.

Countries aspire to reduce emissions and contribute to the global community's development, but it is crucial to prevent carbon emissions from being misused as a pretext for imposing new trade barriers. Ensuring that multilateral mechanisms function effectively is key to preventing the manipulation of international trade rules under the guise of carbon reduction and sustainable development, thereby hindering trade development. In this process, cooperation between China and Africa remains pivotal.

Xu Qinyi is an associate professor at the School of International Studies, Peking University

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Chinese experience attractive to Africa

Africa's level of economic development is relatively lagging behind compared to other continents, with many developing countries, including those classified by the United Nations as some of the least developed countries, concentrated in Africa. The Chinese path to modernization can therefore offer valuable insights for African countries seeking modernization in their unique contexts.

From China's governance experience, two points that African countries are particularly interested in are political stability and infrastructure development. Political stability in China has ensured the long-term implementation of poverty reduction policies and facilitated economic growth. Without political stability, a country embroiled in conflict will struggle to sustain economic growth and uplift the income levels of low-income and impoverished populations.

Infrastructure development is a key focus in Africa, with a significant emphasis on areas such as water resources, transportation, and internet infrastructure. China plays a role in supporting and aiding these developments, assisting African enterprises in infrastructure projects, particularly through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative. Development of infrastructure, including roads, is crucial for economic growth and attracting foreign investment.

Some successful experiences from China's targeted poverty alleviation efforts may be worth emulating for African countries. One such experience is the construction of a basic public service system, including education and healthcare. Long-term development involves enhancing a country's national development and improving the economic well-being of low-income populations. China's sustained high-speed economic growth and successful poverty reduction efforts are partly attributed to its strong focus on education. Since the enactment of compulsory education laws in 1986, China has achieved high rates of basic and compulsory education coverage, significantly reducing illiteracy rates.

In terms of healthcare, Africa faces serious infectious diseases, which, if left untreated, can lead to high infant mortality rates and push some low-income families into poverty. China's experiences in basic healthcare services, such as infant vaccination programs, reproductive health, and elderly care, are exemplary for developing countries. China's basic healthcare services cover a vast majority of its citizens through medical insurance.

Another of China's experiences is the emphasis on "precision" in its targeted poverty alleviation efforts. This involves tailoring poverty alleviation policies to the specific characteristics and needs of impoverished populations and regions. For example, some areas may benefit from photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects, while others may thrive with innovative agriculture initiatives or e-commerce poverty alleviation programs like "Taobao Villages". Tailoring policies to specific circumstances and households is essential for effective targeted poverty alleviation, showcasing a distinctive feature of China's poverty reduction system.

Song Yang is a professor of the School of Economics, and research fellow at the National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China

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Good governance can be good experience

China's successful experiences offer two key factors for consideration:

Good governance: China's good governance comprises three elements. First, it involves having the political will and determination to sustain policy implementation. Second, it requires setting a priority sequence as it is challenging to advance comprehensively, necessitating prioritization of various development aspects. This process involves mobilizing social resources and ensuring government coordination across departments. Third, China adopts a pilot experiment approach.

Inclusive development: China has primarily achieved incremental approaches in urbanization, industrialization, agricultural modernization, and infrastructure development. Incremental development entails setting goals and standards based on specific capabilities during the initial stages of development and gradually raising these standards as capacity and development progress, ultimately reaching high levels.

A crucial aspect to consider is the balance between human capital and physical capital development. Western countries focus on aiding human capital, particularly in education, as education empowers development and is thus crucial. Prior to cooperating with Africa, China has predominantly emphasized physical capital through infrastructure development. Why is infrastructure considered inclusive? This is because many individuals engaged in infrastructure projects are from rural and low-income populations, directly benefiting from their involvement in the process. Therefore, infrastructure development in Africa can benefit the macroeconomy, uplift low-benefit recipients, and provide employment opportunities. Both aspects must be equally prioritized to ensure balanced development.

China's incremental development across various sectors enables low-income and vulnerable groups to gradually adapt to new lifestyles, production tools, urbanization, technological advancements, and information technology.

Gong Sen is a professor at the School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University

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Agricultural, digital transformation mutually beneficial

China-Africa agricultural cooperation has made significant progress under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative. Through technical assistance, industrial chain development, and market expansion, China has helped African nations increase agricultural productivity and modernize the continent's agriculture.

Over the past decade, China has established 24 agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa, promoting over 300 advanced agricultural techniques that have increased crop yields by 30 percent to 60 percent, benefiting over 1 million smallholder farmers. For example, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, China collaborated with local universities and businesses to establish the "Zhejiang University-Lubumbashi University-Huayou Farm" modern agricultural park. This park integrates China's agricultural expertise and technology, offering valuable training opportunities to local farmers and serving as a research hub for sustainable agricultural development. Through the improvement of crop varieties like rice, cassava, and soybeans, and the introduction of new vegetables and legumes, China has enriched the diets of African people and promoted agricultural diversification in the region.

In terms of digital transformation, China has actively assisted African countries in bridging the "digital divide" and advancing China-Africa digital economic cooperation. For instance, in digital infrastructure development, Chinese companies have added and upgraded 150,000 kilometers of communication backbone networks across Africa, providing coverage for approximately 700 million users. On Mount Kilimanjaro, all resting camps at altitudes below 3,795 meters have high-speed internet with wireless network coverage.

Looking ahead, China-Africa agricultural cooperation and digital transformation will focus on several key areas: In agricultural cooperation, both sides will further align agricultural strategies, sign more cooperation agreements, promote technological collaboration, build technology centers and laboratories, and increase agricultural value chains. Additionally, poverty reduction cooperation projects will be launched, in which sending agricultural experts will help in strengthening talent cultivation and exchange. In terms of digital transformation, the two sides will also strengthen the alignment of digital infrastructure construction and policies, explore cooperation in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and 5G/6G, and further promote sustainable economic and social development of the two sides.

Wei Longbao is distinguished professor of Qiushi, director of the Institute of Food and Agribusiness Management, Zhejiang University

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FOCAC a leading mechanism for Global South

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is not only a guiding mechanism for China-Africa cooperation but also a flagship for the Global South's international cooperation with Africa, wielding significant influence. Under the leadership of FOCAC, it can be said that China-Africa relations have achieved comprehensive and leapfrog development over the past 24 years, also spurring many Chinese enterprises to enter Africa.

There are many new areas in which China and Africa can realize growth. For instance, in the field of new productive forces, we see a substantial increase in China's exports of new energy products to Africa, including new energy batteries, electric vehicles, and more. China's photovoltaic industry has also thrived in Africa. In the realm of digital economy, Chinese companies or capital participating in certain African digital platforms have brought new impetus to Africa's development transformation and digitization, aiding Africa in creating platforms similar to the African versions of Alipay, Didi Chuxing, QQ Music, and others.

China and Africa should also strengthen cooperation in the supply chain. The current trend of the West to decouple or break chains not only harms China but also damages interests in Africa. China is one of the largest participants in industry chain cooperation in Africa, with significant investments and contributions to African industries. The current decoupling trend in the West has negative impacts on Africa's development, so China and Africa can enhance corresponding cooperation in this area.

Currently, governance exchanges between China and Africa are frequent, with Africa also seeking to learn from and emulate China's modern development path. Considering that many African countries have only been independent for about five to six decades, further improvements are needed in terms of institutions and processes. It is essential to view Africa's development and China-Africa cooperation through a historical lens. Internally, Africa is trending toward unity and speaking with one voice. In the future, as Africa's strategic autonomy consciousness grows, the continent's institutions and development hold promise.

New quality productive forces primarily manifest in new energy, high technology, including the digital economy and green energy, all crucial for Africa. To achieve rapid development, Africa may face significant challenges if following traditional paths. Africa also needs energy transition and green development, with immense potential in areas like solar energy resources.
Africa holds 60 percent of global solar energy resources but only 1 percent of corresponding photovoltaic energy storage equipment, indicating vast development potential and a significant commercial opportunity for Chinese enterprises. Moreover, in Africa, there are more polluting Japanese second-hand vehicles emitting black smoke. China's new energy vehicles are both environmentally friendly and affordable and can play a significant role in upgrading old facilities, environmental protection, energy transition and green development in Africa.

In the digital economy sector, many remote rural areas in Africa face challenges in advertising and selling products. With the digital economy, farmers in these areas can use online channels and platforms developed with Chinese involvement to sell their goods nationwide and globally, significantly improving local livelihoods.

Li Wentao is a research professor and executive director of the Institute of African Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations

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Global South should seek own paths to modernization

When it comes to industrialization, it exhibits certain common characteristics. While I prefer the term "industrialization", it doesn't imply that all nations must embark on the same path toward modernization. How could they? China, with its distinct culture, differs significantly from the West, just as African countries differ greatly from China.

President Xi asserts that China will assist Global South countries in their shared journey toward modernization. In the early stages of development, the absorption of investments is pivotal, especially when the economic mechanisms alone cannot generate sufficient capital. In this regard, I believe that China, along with BRICS, the IMF, and other organizations, has a responsibility to provide assistance.

Moreover, in terms of economic cooperation, China can play a crucial role in aiding the Global South in establishing its industrial foundations, enhancing infrastructure, and nurturing administrative and managerial talent. China should strike a delicate balance between its own interests and those of the host country, particularly in terms of employing local workers.

Gao Jian is an associate professor at the School of English Studies, Shanghai International Studies University

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