Table of Contents
1. Preamble
2. Political Cooperation
2.1 High-level Visits and Dialogue
2.2 Exchanges Between Political Parties, Legislatures, Consultative Bodies and Local Governments
2.3 China, the African Union and Africa’s Sub-regional Organizations
2.4 International Cooperation
3. Economic Cooperation
3.1 Agriculture, Food Security and Food Safety
3.2 Infrastructure Development
3.3 Industrial Partnership and Production Capacity Cooperation
3.4 Investment and Economic Cooperation
3.5 Trade
3.6 Customs and Market Supervision
3.7 Digital Economy
3.8 Finance
4. Social Development Cooperation
4.1 Development Cooperation
4.2 Medical Care and Public Health
4.3 Education and Human Resources
4.4 Cooperation and Exchanges on Poverty Reduction and Rural Development
4.5 Science and Technology Cooperation and Knowledge Sharing
4.6 Cyber Security Cooperation
5. Cultural and People-to-People Exchanges
5.1 Tourism
5.2 Culture
5.3 Press and Media
5.4 Academia and Think Tanks
5.5 Sub-national and People-to-People Exchanges
5.6 Youth and Women
6. Peace and Security Cooperation
6.1 Military, Police, Counter-terrorism and Law Enforcement
6.2 Anti-corruption, Consular Affairs, Immigration and Judiciary
7. Green Development
7.1 Ecological Protection and Climate Response
7.2 Maritime Cooperation
7.3 Cooperation on Energy and Natural Resources
8. Experience Sharing on State Governance
9. FOCAC Institutional Development
1. Preamble
1.1 The 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held in Dakar from November 29th to 30th 2021. The Heads of Delegation of China and the Heads of Delegation of 53 African countries and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the two sides”) attended the Conference.
1.2 The two sides commend the development of relations between China and Africa, and believe that over the past 21 years since its inception, the Forum has strongly promoted the development of relations between China and Africa, and become an important benchmark for international cooperation with Africa.
1.3 The two sides are satisfied with the effective implementation of the eight major initiatives launched during the 2018 Beijing Summit, and will continue to pursue the vision of innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all, promote high-quality China-Africa cooperation, and work in concert to defeat COVID-19 and advance post-pandemic economic recovery.
1.4 The two sides acknowledge that China, the largest developing country, has achieved the goal of building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and is striving to realize its second centenary goal and the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, and that African countries are endeavoring to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent. China and Africa are committed to further enhancing their comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and building an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.
1.5 The two sides undertake to create synergy between the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, the Long-Range Goals for 2035 of China, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union, thus drawing a long-term blueprint for China-Africa practical cooperation. China and Africa will make joint efforts to turn the vision into reality.
1.6 Africa supports the Global Development Initiative proposed by China. African countries will favorably consider joining the initiative and make joint efforts to accelerate the global implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
1.7 China welcomes African countries joining the big family of Belt and Road cooperation. China and Africa will continue to uphold the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, follow the philosophy of open, green and clean cooperation, and advance high-standard, people-centered and sustainable Belt and Road cooperation.
1.8 To implement the outcomes of the Conference, and chart the course of China-Africa friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields in the next three and even more years under the theme of “Deepening the Sino-African Partnership and Promoting Sustainable Development to Build a China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in the New Era”, the two sides jointly formulated and adopted by consensus this Action Plan.
1.9 China and Africa will work closely to further upgrade and improve the quality of China-Africa cooperation. To this end, the two sides will implement the nine programs, namely the the medical and health program, the poverty reduction and agricultural development program, the trade promotion program, the investment promotion program, the digital innovation program, the green development program, the capacity building program, the cultural and people-to-people exchange program, and the peace and security program. Relevant content will be reflected in the following articles of this Action Plan.
2. Political Cooperation
2.1 High-level Visits and Dialogue
2.1.1 The two sides will maintain close high-level exchanges to deepen traditional friendship, enhance political mutual trust, strengthen strategic coordination and cement the political foundation of China-Africa relations. China appreciates African leaders’ warm congratulations on the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and commends African leaders for attending the CPC and World Political Parties Summit.
2.1.2 The two sides will deepen experience sharing on state governance. China supports African countries in independently exploring development paths suited to their national conditions, and supports their efforts in formulating national development strategies, strengthening governing capacity and improving state governance. China and Africa will continue to share development experience, and enhance coordination of development philosophies and ideas in the process of cooperation.
2.1.3 To improve the planning and implementation of strategies regarding China-Africa relations and cooperation, the two sides agree to improve mechanisms such as the Bi-National Commissions (BNC), the intergovernmental commissions, the strategic dialogues, the foreign ministries’ political consultations, the joint/mixed commissions on economic and trade cooperation as well as joint working groups, and the steering committees. The two sides agree to hold a coordinators' meeting on the implementation of the outcomes of the FOCAC Dakar Conference in due course.
2.2 Exchanges Between Political Parties, Legislatures, Consultative Bodies and Local Governments
2.2.1 The two sides will further strengthen high-level exchanges between Chinese and African political parties, improve bilateral and multilateral political dialogues such as the China-Africa Political Parties Theoretical Seminar, and deepen experience sharing and mutual learning on state governance.
2.2.2 The two sides will strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the leadership, special committees, and bilateral friendship groups of the National People’s Congress of China and parliaments of African countries to enhance mutual understanding and friendship and promote exchanges and mutual learning in such areas as legislation.
2.2.3 The two sides will encourage the National People’s Congress of China and parliaments of African countries to jointly hold bilateral and multilateral seminars, strengthen human resources cooperation, and promote capacity building of legislative bodies.
2.2.4 The National People’s Congress of China will strengthen friendly engagements with African regional parliament organizations, including the Pan-African Parliament and the African Parliamentary Union, and work closer with African parliaments in the Inter-Parliamentary Union and other multilateral institutions, so as to safeguard common interests and international fairness and justice.
2.2.5 The two sides will expand and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and parliaments of African countries, sub-regional parliaments of Africa, the Pan-African Parliament and the African Parliamentary Union.
2.2.6 The two sides will promote exchanges between the China-Africa Friendship Group of the National Committee of the CPPCC and relevant institutions and friendly personages in various organizations of African countries, the African Union and African regional organizations.
2.2.7 The two sides will deepen exchanges between the China Economic and Social Council and the AU Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSCOCC), economic and social councils of African countries and other relevant institutions.
2.2.8 The two sides will further strengthen exchanges between local governments, encourage the establishment of more sister provinces/cities relations, improve the mechanism of China-Africa Forum on Cooperation Between Local Governments, and promote deeper and more concrete China-Africa sub-national cooperation.
2.3 China, the African Union and Africa’s Sub-regional Organizations
2.3.1 The two sides recognize the important role of the African Union in safeguarding peace and stability and promoting the integration of Africa. China commends the new progress made by Africa in seeking strength through unity, and notes the important results achieved in the institutional reform of the African Union. The African side appreciates China’s efforts and contributions in promoting peace, stability and development in Africa.
2.3.2 The two sides agree to consolidate and strengthen China’s cooperation with the African Union and its affiliated institutions and Africa’s sub-regional organizations, to continue holding the China-African Union Strategic Dialogue, and to strengthen communication and coordination between China and Africa’s sub-regional organizations, so that China-Africa transnational and trans-regional cooperation will deliver more outcomes.
2.3.3 The African side commends China for supporting the African Union and Africa’s sub-regional organizations in upgrading public service facilities, improving office conditions and enhancing public service capacity. China will continue to support the capacity building of the African Union and Africa’s sub-regional organizations.
2.3.4 China notes with appreciation that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has entered the implementation stage, and will set up an expert group on economic cooperation with the secretariat of the AfCFTA, and continue to support the development of the free trade area and the Secretariat of the AfCFTA .
2.4 International Cooperation
2.4.1 China and Africa are of the view that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century and has entered a period of turbulence and transformation, while the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates the evolution of the international landscape. At the same time, peace, development and win-win cooperation remain the trend of our times, and countries are increasingly interconnected and interdependent. The two sides are committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind, to building an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity, to fostering a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and to safeguarding the common interests of the Chinese and African people.
2.4.2 The two sides will continue to support each other in international affairs and major international elections. The two sides reaffirm their commitment to upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the authority of the UN and true multilateralism. The two sides will continue to step up coordination and collaboration at the United Nations and other multilateral institutions, strengthen cooperation in such areas as maintaining peace and security and promoting sustainable development, push the international order toward greater equity and justice, and act on the common values of humanity, namely peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom.
2.4.3 The two sides are committed to strengthening cooperation in the field of human rights, to jointly opposing politicization of human rights issues or interfering in others’ internal affairs as prescribed in the UN Charter , and to promoting the healthy development of the international cause of human rights.
2.4.4 The two sides emphasize that tracing the origins of COVID-19 is a serious scientific issue that should be carried out cooperatively by scientists across the world. The two sides firmly oppose politicizing origins-tracing or using the issue as a tool to stigmatize others. The African side commends China’s active participation in global origins-tracing research, especially its close cooperation with the WHO, and welcomes the Joint Report of the WHO-convened Global Study of Origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part released by the WHO in March 2021.
2.4.5 The two sides stress that it is important to carry out more extensive and in-depth research on origins-tracing at a global level on the basis of the conclusions and recommendations of the report, in accordance with the relevant resolution of the World Health Assembly, and through close cooperation of parties concerned, so as to provide safeguards for mankind to completely defeat the pandemic and forestall future risks.
2.4.6 The two sides are committed to promoting the sustained and sound development of the Olympic Movement, and oppose the politicization of sports. The African side supports China in hosting the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and is ready to strengthen cooperation and exchanges with China in the field of sports.
2.4.7 China actively supports African countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and is prepared to use the China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund and the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to support African countries in pursuing sustainable development.
2.4.8 China will stay in close communication with African countries under the frameworks of the Group of 77 plus China, the United Nations Economic and Social Council as well as the Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, and maintain coordination and cooperation in areas such as poverty reduction, food security, COVID response and vaccines, climate change and green development, connectivity, digital economy, industrialization, and financing for development, so as to safeguard the common interests of developing countries.
2.4.9 The two sides believe that Africa is a major partner for international cooperation, not an arena for big power rivalry. They call on more countries and organizations, especially Africa’s traditional partners, to join the Initiative on Partnership for Africa’s Development launched by China and some African countries, with a view to creating effective synergy among the international community to enhance Africa’s quest for sustainable development. On the basis of mutual partnership, China is prepared to conduct third-party and multi-party cooperation with relevant sides.
2.4.10 China and Africa will work together to uphold the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core and foster an open world economy. They support necessary reform of the WTO and greater liberalization and facilitation of international trade and investment to better safeguard the development rights and interests of developing countries and their space for development. They call for an early resumption of normal functioning of WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism and efforts to increase the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system.
3. Economic Cooperation
3.1 Agriculture, Food Security and Food Safety
3.1.1 The two sides will give full play to the China-Africa agricultural cooperation mechanism, hold the second Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Agriculture, and convene the first meeting of the China-AU Joint Committee on Agricultural Cooperation, to innovate cooperation methods, enrich the content of cooperation, and ensure the effective implementation of agricultural cooperation in fields of shared interest.
3.1.2 The two sides will further strengthen food security cooperation by giving full play to the China-AU coordination mechanism for Belt and Road cooperation and making good use of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund. The two sides will launch trials in such areas as reduction of post-harvest grain loss in light of the AU’s needs and China’s strengths, in order to support African countries to improve their food supply capacity with existing production capabilities.
3.1.3 The two sides will support leveraging the various economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa to advance cooperation across the whole industrial chain of agro-products, covering planting, processing and selling, so as to jointly enhance Africa’s capacity for localized processing of agro-products and increase the added value of agro-products. The two sides will work to improve the conditions of roads linking urban and rural areas, small water management and irrigation facilities in villages and townships, food storage and basic processing facilities, renewable energy power facilities, and small agricultural mechanization equipment in African countries.
3.1.4 China will continue to strengthen cooperation and exchanges with Africa in fishery and support promoting the development of the fishery industry of Africa to the best of its ability. The African side will introduce policies that are more conducive to China-Africa fishery cooperation to attract more investment from China and deliver mutually beneficial outcomes through cooperation.
3.1.5 China will actively expand the import of quality speciality agri-food products from Africa and open “green lanes” for African agricultural exports to China, speed up the inspection and quarantine procedures. The two sides will continue to step up collaboration in building a China-Africa Incubation Center for E-commerce in Agricultural Products. The two sides will better facilitate connections between Chinese and African agricultural enterprises and smooth out the channels for agricultural trade and investment, further expand bilateral trade of quality agricultural products as well as the types and scale of investment and support the efforts of Chinese businesses to invest in and build agricultural industrial parks in Africa.
3.1.6 The two sides will give full play to the agricultural technology demonstration centers already established in Africa to strengthen personnel training and exchanges as well as agricultural technology trials and demonstrations, and speed up the integrated application of technological outcomes suited to the agricultural conditions of African countries. The two sides will conduct cooperation on the development and utilization of Juncao, hybrid rice, hybrid millet and other technologies.
3.1.7 China will sign a memorandum of understanding with the African Development Bank (AfDB) in order to share China’s experience in agro-products processing with African countries through the platform of AfDB and provide technological support for agro-products processing zones in Africa.
3.1.8 China will send 500 agricultural experts to African countries to carry out plan making, policy consultation, technical demonstration, on-site teaching and capacity training. China will support the development of peasants’ schools and hold thematic skill training sessions for African rural development leaders in China, in order to support Africa to train local leaders of rural development and foster a talent pool for Africa’s agricultural and rural development. China will continue to implement the plan for cultivating African young pioneers in agricultural scientific research, and set up a number of China-Africa joint centers for modern agrotechnology exchange, demonstration and training in China.
3.1.9 The two sides will strengthen science and technology cooperation in areas such as sustainable agriculture, water-saving irrigation, grain loss reduction, and climate response in agriculture, and establish a China-Africa seed technology research and innovation platform and a joint research center for digital agriculture. China will invite African experts and scientific research personnel to China to receive education with academic degrees or engage in cooperative research programs, and support African countries to build up capacity in agricultural production technology and quarantine inspection of agro-products, in order to support Africa to improve its composite agricultural production capacity and better manage food security challenges in the post-pandemic era.
3.1.10 China will support market-based investment in Africa’s agricultural industry, support African countries in enhancing their capacity for independent agricultural development, and invest in grain and cash crop production projects in such forms as greenfield investment, equity participation, mergers and acquisitions, and leasing, in order to extend the scope of Chinese agricultural investment in Africa from planting to warehousing, logistics, processing, and international trade.
3.1.11 The African side commends China for providing the emergency food aid and assistance to some African countries affected by the locust plague, which reduced the food security pressure and alleviated the humanitarian crisis in these countries. China will continue to provide emergency humanitarian food assistance to African countries.
3.2 Infrastructure Development
3.2.1 Africa applauds China’s partnership and cooperation in Africa’s infrastructural development. Both sides note the persistent infrastructural gap in Africa and pledge to resolve the problem by encouraging and promoting innovative and favorable Chinese financial support in infrastructural projects in Africa over the next three years.The two sides, where applicable, will prioritize to create synergy between China-Africa infrastructural cooperation with the second Priority Action Plan of the programme in Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA-PAPII) and the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative (PICI). The two sides will step up mutually beneficial cooperation in the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and good governance of infrastructure projects, in order to support African countries to continuously improve infrastructure.
3.2.2. China will continue to contribute to Africa’s infrastructure development following the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, shared benefits, no-harm and harmony, and support Chinese enterprises in contributing to the improvement and development of Africa’s infrastructure with advanced equipment, technologies, standards and services, promoting connectivity and providing innovative financing. China will undertake 10 connectivity assistance projects for Africa.
3.2.3 China and Africa will encourage Chinese enterprises to, through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and trilateral and multilateral cooperation, conduct connectivity and other projects in Africa, including those linked to the lntegrated High Speed Train Network, the Single African Air-Transport Market (SAATM), the Pan-African E-network and Cyber Security.
3.2.4 The two sides will explore promoting alignment and mutual recognition of green and sustainable development standards under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), give full play to the BRI International Green Development Coalition to enhance cooperation in green technology research and energy-efficient buildings and facilities.
3.2.5 China encourages and supports competent Chinese enterprises to invest in African ports, airports and airlines. The African side welcomes such investment. Both sides support Chinese and African airlines and shipping companies in opening more flights and shipping services connecting China and Africa.
3.2.6 China encourages Chinese enterprises to use joint ventures with African partners, employ more local workers at all levels and use more local materials and manufactured products during the development and execution of infrastructure projects.
3.2.7 Both sides will deepen their commitment to increase the training of African professionals - including women - in all the domains that fall under infrastructure connectivity initiative in Africa, including the development and management of construction projects, the construction and operation of power projects, management of High Speed Train Networks, shipping, investment projects and finance resource management.
3.2.8 China supports Africa in developing the Single African Air Transport Market. The two sides will support each other in realizing the targets set for aviation market access, actively study the feasibility of concluding an agreement, and enhance cooperation in aviation market access.
3.2.9 China and Africa commit to further strengthening and expanding the civil aviation market in both Africa and China through market reforms, the transfer of aviation technology, capacity building and reiterates the proposal for the construction of an Africa-China civil aviation Academy in Africa, to meet ICAO standards and follow ICAO’s recommended practices, with a view to jointly advancing Africa’s regional aviation development.
3.2.10 The two sides will, in recognition of the strategic and far-reaching impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on economic and social development, enhance exchanges and cooperation, encourage and support their companies in participating and partnering in the building of ICT infrastructure including the optical fiber cable backbone network, cross-border connectivity, international undersea cable, new-generation mobile network, and data center, and carry out mutually beneficial cooperation in infrastructure construction, operation and services.
3.2.11 The two sides will deepen cooperation in the field of logistics, and harness modern ICT and enhance logistic information sharing, so as to jointly build African logistic infrastructure, and provide stable and smooth logistics services for China-Africa trade. The two sides will strengthen information exchange and technological cooperation, promote alignment of transportation infrastructure standards and mutual recognition of transport technologies and professional qualifications of management personnel.
3.2.12 The two sides recognize that global coordination and integration of radio frequency and satellite orbit resources are conducive to the in-depth information technology cooperation and the global development of relevant industries. Under the framework of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the two sides will enhance communication and cooperation in the field of radio spectrum management and actively coordinate their positions on topics of mutual interest in the World Radio communication Conference (WRC).
3.3 Industrial Partnership and Production Capacity Cooperation
3.3.1 Building on the industrial promotion initiative launched in 2018, and the China-Africa industrial plan and agricultural modernization plans launched in 2015, as well as from the African side the newly launched AfCFTA, the African Union's continental ten-year plan frameworks in particular the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), Africa Mining Vision (AMV) and Accelerated lndustrial Development for Africa (AIDA), China reiterates its commitment to seeing inclusive growth in Africa to achieve its aspiration to become the world's third largest economy by 2063.
3.3.2 The two sides will make best use of industrial capacity cooperation mechanisms, continue to improve the cooperation mechanism featuring enterprises as the mainstay, market operation and government guidance, and draw on the complementarity of their development needs to promote upgrading of China-Africa cooperation projects to realize cluster, scale, industrialized and localized development, thus leveling up the productive capacity of African countries. China will undertake 10 industrialization and employment promotion assistance projects for Africa.
3.3.3 The two sides will take into account African countries’ disparity in natural endowments and industrial development levels, enhance production capacity cooperation in light of local realities in such fields of resource-intensive sectors (e.g., food, drink, tobacco, timber, building materials), labor-intensive sectors (e.g., textile, garment, leather, metal), technology- or capital-intensive sectors (e.g., pharmaceutical, chemical, automobile, machinery, equipment manufacturing, electronic, science and technology), and encourage enterprises to explore extending to emerging areas such as modern services, new energy development, green manufacturing, and information and communication sectors.
3.3.4 The two sides will continue to support Chinese enterprises in increasing investments in medium and high-technology manufacturing, energy and electricity, digital infrastructure development, digital economy and aviation and aerospace sectors, to help add to African countries’ foreign exchange reserves, facilitate technology transfer, remove supply chain bottlenecks and create more opportunities for diversified economic development of African countries.
3.3.5 The two sides will continue to support expansion of industrial chains in the mining industry, increase investment in smelt, processing and other upstream and downstream sectors of mining industry as well as electricity, transportation and other supporting infrastructure, launch mineral processing projects in African countries, and build resource-development cooperation zones to promote local industrial development and support translating resource endowments into advantages of economic development.
3.3.6 The two sides appreciate the role of economic cooperation zones in galvanizing and boosting industrial development, and will actively support its construction and development, and provide service and guidance for building and upgrading economic cooperation zones in Africa. China supports upgrading of economic cooperation zones in Africa to China-Africa demonstration areas for industrial and supply chains cooperation, and will continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to actively engage in construction, operation, and investment of economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa.
3.3.7 The two sides support enhancing policy guidance and information services to small and medium-sized enterprises, and encourage them to strengthen complementarity and carry out exchanges in transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing, inter-regional coordination and cooperation, and other areas. China would like to invite enterprises organized by African countries to international exhibitions including the China Small and Medium Enterprises Fair, to jointly promote exchanges and cooperation of enterprises from both sides.
3.3.8 The two sides agree to leverage a bigger role of the Corporate Social Responsibility Alliance of Chinese Companies in Africa to encourage Chinese enterprises to actively fulfill social responsibilities over community development, localized management, environmental protection, energy conservation and emission reduction, and public services. China encourages Chinese enterprises in Africa to level up localization and generate more job opportunities for the local people.
3.3.9 The two sides support more exchanges on the reform and development of state-owned assets and enterprises. The two sides will enhance experience sharing in state-owned assets regulation and management, encourage exploration and adoption of SOE reform path suited to the country’s development strategy and reality, and promote improvement of the management mechanism of state-owned enterprises to raise operational efficiency and better serve the needs of socio-economic development and people’s needs for a better life.
3.4 Investment and Economic Cooperation
3.4.1 The African side appreciates the important role of Chinese investments in boosting Africa’s industrial development and supporting Africa’s deeper integration into global and regional industrial and value chains. China will continue to encourage and support two-way investment. Both sides will continue to improve investment and cooperation mechanisms, strive to reduce investment barriers, and work together for the conclusion and upgrading of bilateral investment protection treaties, to deliver more favorable investment environment for both sides.
3.4.2 China will encourage its businesses to invest no less than 10 billion US dollars in Africa in the next three years and, in particular, expand investment in areas including manufacturing, agriculture, green economy and digital economy.
3.4.3 The two sides will make good use of China’s initiatives on cooperation with Africa and all relevant tools, fully leverage the role of the Investing in Africa Forum to enhance the sharing of development experience, and step up cooperation in production capacity, trade and investment. The two sides will share information about investment policies and opportunities, laws and regulations, economic development and cooperation areas. The two sides will give further play to the role of the Investing in Africa Think Tank Union in providing intellectual support to improve Africa’s investment environment and attract more investment in sectors of mutual interest.
3.4.4 China will establish a platform for China-Africa private investment promotion, and encourage Chinese businesses to invest in Africa, in the logistics and manufacturing sectors of existing and new free trade zones, industrial parks, and green industrial parks in particular, so as to help increase trade within Africa and Africa’s external trade including exports to the Chinese market, and to create a large number of jobs for African youths, including women.
3.4.5 China and Africa will also encourage the China-Africa Development Fund and the China- Africa Fund for Industrial Cooperation to support Chinese companies to invest in African firms and projects including Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).
3.4.6 Both sides will continue their practical cooperation in taxation. China will support African countries in improving tax collection and administration capacity through technology support and personnel training. Both sides will continue to negotiate, conclude and implement agreements on the avoidance of double taxation and resolve cross-border tax-related disputes, so as to create a favourable taxation environment for China-Africa trade and investment.
3.4.7 China will publish the Report on Chinese Investment in Africa on a regular basis, to release economic and trade data, analyze investment cases, review experience of China-Africa investment cooperation and put forward proposals for future cooperation, as a way to encourage Chinese enterprises to increase investment in Africa and support independent and sustainable development of Africa.
3.5 Trade
3.5.1 China supports African countries in promoting African products at such events as the China International Import Expo and the China Import and Export Fair, and will provide preferential and facilitating measures where necessary. China welcomes African countries’ efforts in holding trade promotion activities in China or online and support Africa in increasing its export to China.
3.5.2 The two sides attach importance to the role of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo as a national-level, comprehensive and international platform for cooperation and therefore will consider holding various trade events of the Expo in Africa. Both sides will pool the strengths of central and local governments, think tanks, enterprises, financial institutions, chambers of commerce, associations and other relevant parties to jointly promote the high-quality development of China-Africa practical cooperation.
3.5.3 China will provide 10 billion US dollars of trade finance to support African export, and build in China a pioneering zone for in-depth China-Africa trade and economic cooperation and a China-Africa industrial park for Belt and Road cooperation.
3.5.4 China and Africa agree to improve the competitiveness of African agricultural products,and will facilitate and expedite the entry of small scale agricultural producers into formal processing, marketing and distribution networks.
3.5.5 China and Africa will jointly study the possibility of establishing cooperation mechanisms including e-commerce, to actively promote trade facilitation, jointly advance paperless cross-border trade, promote expediting and simplifying processes for African agro-products to China through e-commerce, and promote unimpeded trade.
3.5.6 China will further expand the scope of duty-free products from LDCs with diplomatic relations with China and will continue to hold discussions with the African side on promoting China-Africa trade, in a bid to reach 300 billion US dollars in total imports from Africa in the next three years.
3.5.7 Both Sides encourage the launching of a process to increase the value in China of processed and manufactured African goods through the recognition of African geographical indications.
3.5.8 The two side will explore the possibility of establishing e-commerce hubs in Africa dedicated to African exports to China.
3.5.9 Both sides support developing marine-rail-combined transportation such as the “Sichuan-Europe-Africa Service”, to create new trade corridors for China-Africa international land and maritime logistics and trade, and level up two-way trade and logistics cooperation.
3.6 Customs and Market Supervision
3.6.1 China will strengthen communication and cooperation with African countries and the AU on competition policy, antitrust and preventing unfair competition, and set up bilateral and multilateral dialogue mechanisms on antitrust and prevention of unfair competition, to create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for the high-quality common development of China and Africa.
3.6.2 The two sides will enhance exchanges and cooperation in the area of metrology, including weight, length and time frequency, to promote metrological policy and technology communication and technical exchanges, and strengthen mutual support and cooperation in international organizations concerning metrology.
3.6.3 The two sides are ready to enhance exchanges and cooperation on standardization, to promote the standardization capacity of African countries. The role of standard in “soft connectivity” will be leveraged in support of China-Africa trade.
3.6.4 The two sides will enhance information exchange in qualification assessment, increase transparency of policies and regulations, promote the establishment of cooperation mechanisms for qualification assessment, and enhance mutual recognition of qualification assessment results, to reduce the impact of technical trade measures on China-Africa trade.
3.6.5 China will actively provide capacity-building support for African countries in areas such as animal and plant quarantine, import and export food safety, and frontier health quarantine, to deepen cooperation in animal and plant quarantine and food safety, and help accelerate the development of trade in agricultural and food products including soybean, beef, nut, coffee, cocoa, and wine.
3.6.6 The two sides will continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between customs authorities. China will support African countries in improving customs management and modernization, expand cooperation with African customs authorities in areas of clearance facilitation, law enforcement and capacity building, and combat illegal and criminal activities including counterfeiting, the smuggling and illegal trafficking of items of cultural heritage and wildlife, infringement and business fraud, to promote the sound and smooth development of China-Africa trade.
3.7 Digital Economy
3.7.1 The two sides, recognizing the strategic and overarching impact of ICT on social and economic development aimed at poverty reduction, will enhance exchanges and cooperation between competent departments, share ICT development experience, jointly seize the opportunity of digital economy, and encourage cooperation between enterprises in such fields as ICT infrastructure, internet and digital economy.
3.7.2 The African side supports the Initiative on Jointly Building a China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace proposed by China. The two sides will formulate and implement the “China-Africa Digital Innovation Partnership Program”, actively discuss and promote cooperation on the application of emerging technologies such as in the fields of cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and mobile internet. China is ready to share experience with African countries on the building of smart cities.
3.7.3 China will undertake 10 digital economy assistance projects for Africa, support the development of African digital infrastructure, and continue to hold the China-Africa Digital Cooperation Forum and the China-Africa BDS Cooperation Forum.
3.7.4 China will work with Africa to improve the China-Africa technology transfer and innovation cooperation network, hold the China-Africa innovation cooperation and development forum, and support the development of China-Africa joint laboratories, partner institutes, and scientific and technological innovation cooperation bases.
3.7.5 China is ready to enhance communication and exchanges with governments of African countries and organizations like “Smart Africa”, to boost the innovative development of digital technology in Africa and China-Africa digital cooperation. The two sides will enhance cooperation in the ITU, WRC and other international organizations, and promote coordination on personnel training, internet connectivity, and innovation center building, among others. The two sides will carry out strategic consultation on ICT policies and development, to make joint efforts to narrow down the digital gap for Africa and promote the building of information society in Africa.
3.7.6 China will work with African countries to expand Silk Road e-commerce cooperation, jointly formulate a China-Africa inclusive development plan for e-commerce, hold online shopping festivals featuring quality African products and tourism e-commerce promotion activities, and launch a campaign to market a hundred African stores and a thousand African products on e-commerce platforms. The two sides will enhance policy communication and information sharing in digital economy, conduct capacity building cooperation, share experience on the use of e-commerce for poverty reduction, elevate digital capacity of SMEs, and share digital economy dividends.
3.8 Finance
3.8.1 China will continue to provide concessional loans and other financial support to African countries. Loans will be offered on a more concessional basis and innovative ways of financing will be explored, to support Africa’s infrastructure development, energy and resources development, agriculture, manufacturing and the comprehensive development of the whole industrial chain of Africa.
3.8.2 On the basis of observing multilateral rules and procedures, China will support African countries in making even better use of resources from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the New Development Bank, the Silk Road Fund the China-Africa special fund for development financing and the special Loan for the Development of African SMEs, further broaden and optimize financing channels for Africa, and support the development of African SMEs through accessible and affordable loans. China will provide 10 billion US dollars in credit line to African financial institutions and support the development of small and medium-sized African enterprises on a priority basis.
3.8.3 The two sides acknowledge the role of the China-Africa Financial Cooperation Consortium in promoting trade, production capacity cooperation and infrastructure development. The two sides encourage deeper cooperation between financial institutions, investment funds and multilateral financial institutions from both sides, to scale up support for China-Africa production capacity cooperation, support the industrialization of Africa and provide more diversified financing packages for African countries. The two sides call on more institutional investors who tend to make long-term investments such as insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds to give more attention to China-Africa cooperation projects.
3.8.4 China will deepen cooperation with regional and sub-regional development financial institutions including the African Development Bank, the African Export-Import Bank, the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank and the West African Development Bank, and make good use of joint financing facilities such as the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), to support projects in areas of infrastructure, agricultural development and industrial cooperation.
3.8.5 China welcomes the issuance of panda bond by eligible African sovereign, multilateral and financial institutions in the Chinese bond market to contribute to diversifying the financing channels for African market entities. China will work for greater convenience for African countries who hold RMB as a reserve currency.
3.8.6 The two sides support the RMB offshore market development in Africa, and will encourage provision of custody bond service by Chinese commercial banks in Africa for local investors, and support those banks in bringing into full play their role as RMB clearing banks in Africa to meet the growing demands for the use of RMB in China-Africa trade and investment. China will establish a China-Africa cross-border RMB center, and welcomes African countries and financial institutions to issue RMB bonds in China.
3.8.7 The two sides will continue to encourage and support their financial institutions, in accordance with respective laws, regulations and prudential supervisory rules, in strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation through investment, joint ventures or other means, and providing diversified and inclusive financial services. The network of financial institutions and services of both sides will be improved to facilitate trade and investment.
3.8.8 The African side applauds China’s positive contribution to supporting African countries to address debt vulnerability through its full implementation of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). China will observe the G20 agreement in its management of debt-related issues and provide support for African countries in difficulties. China and Africa urge other official bilateral creditors, commercial creditors, and multilateral development banks to take the same concrete action.
3.8.9 China encourages its financial institutions to, on the basis of market-oriented principles, make independent decisions on additional financing to African countries. China is ready to channel to African countries 10 billion US dollars from its share of the IMF’s new allocation of SDR. China calls on the IMF and the World Bank to take into account the new situation and reform their respective lending approval procedures in ways that are more adapted to the reality of African countries, so as to support more efficient access of African countries to development financing.
3.8.10 China will continue to enhance cooperation with African financial regulators in such fields as banknote printing and minting, and combating money laundering and financing of terrorism, to safeguard the stable and healthy operation and development of Chinese and African financial systems.
3.8.11 China notes with appreciation that the Africa Development Bank has become a major institution for the financing and implementation of Agenda 2063 of the AU and an important platform for policy coordination among African countries. China welcomes the efforts of international financial institutions including the Africa Development Bank to make active use of the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) to enhance information sharing, support early-stage project preparations and strengthen capacity building. China will encourage the China-IMF Capacity Development Center and IMF regional capacity development centers to play a bigger role in providing technical assistance for Africa.
4. Social Development Cooperation
4.1 Development Cooperation
4.1.1 The African side commends China for its long-standing commitment to development cooperation with Africa in the spirit of equality, mutual trust, mutual benefits, solidarity and mutual support, and provision of assistance to African countries and people to the best of its abilities without any political strings attached. Guided by the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, China will continue to uphold justice while pursuing shared interests, increase assistance to African countries, LDCs in particular, and support African countries in achieving development benefiting their peoples with sustainable prosperity and welfare.
4.1.2 The African side applauds China’s efforts in supporting African countries to reduce poverty, improve people’s lives, expand employment, remove development bottlenecks and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in ways of complete projects, provision of goods, technical cooperation, human resources development, setting up the Assistance Fund for South-South Cooperation and sending medical teams, among others. China
