african scholars: the west cannot learn the inclusive development concept advocated by china
2024-09-07
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introduction: the 2024 forum on china-africa cooperation summit was held in beijing on september 4. in recent years, under the framework of the belt and road initiative, china and africa have carried out extensive cooperation in infrastructure, trade and other aspects, which meets the development needs and goals of african countries themselves, and has made important contributions to africa's sustainable development in the post-colonial era and the accelerated implementation of the au's 2063 agenda, achieving mutual benefit and win-win results. in contrast, western countries are still using the neo-colonial means of "divide and rule" to treat african countries, and using the cold war mentality to counter china's influence, which should be abandoned.
author: long gang
(Antoine Roger Lokongo)
professor of joseph kasa-vubu national university of the democratic republic of the congo senior visiting researcher of the china-foreign cultural exchange research base of peking university
last year marked the 10th anniversary of the belt and road initiative, which was inspired by the ancient silk road that connected china and europe to the mediterranean coast more than 2,000 years ago and aims to promote connectivity, trade and cultural exchanges among countries along the route.
in 2013, president xi jinping proposed the construction of the silk road economic belt and the 21st century maritime silk road, injecting new vitality into the ancient silk road. china welcomes all countries to actively participate and jointly realize the grand vision of interconnection. according to a research report by the center for green finance and development of fudan university, by strengthening interconnection, the belt and road initiative will promote modernization in many fields, including manufacturing, new technologies, renewable energy, trade infrastructure, information and communication technology, resource transactions, and strategic projects. since its proposal, the belt and road initiative has become a flagship project for international development cooperation.
sub-saharan africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the belt and road cooperation and a model of south-south cooperation.
under the framework of the belt and road initiative, bilateral and multilateral cooperation projects implemented in africa are completely open and transparent, without any concealment. unlike the west, which clings to the cold war mentality, the belt and road initiative does not seek to carve out a "sphere of influence" where "other competitors must be driven out". china's role is a partner, not a colonizer or a ruler. the belt and road initiative is consistent with africa's own agenda and the strategies of african countries.
image source: xinhua news agency
for example, the 2063 agenda formulated by the african union, with the subtitle "the africa we want", clearly puts forward the development vision of africans and how to achieve these visions, including achieving african integration by solving the problem of insufficient infrastructure. the "belt and road" initiative regards africa as a partner, and the au's 2063 agenda regards integration as the only way for africa's revival. these two initiatives have something in common, so the connection between the two will inject more vitality into africa's development.
another example is the african continental free trade area, one of the flagship projects of the african union’s agenda 2063. the african continental free trade area is the world’s largest free trade area, creating a single, continent-wide market that unites 54 countries with a combined gdp of $3.4 trillion. the purpose of the african continental free trade area is to enable the free flow of goods and services across the continent and to enhance africa’s trade position in the global market. however, there can be no complete continental market without a complete infrastructure network covering the entire african continent. therefore, the belt and road initiative itself is a solution to promote political and economic integration in africa - a solution proposed by china, but not imposed.
to this day, africa is still divided into french-speaking africa, english-speaking africa, and portuguese-speaking africa, a legacy of western colonialism. this colonial history is the main factor, and even the root cause, behind the most serious conflicts in africa. "divide and rule" is a neo-colonial tactic used by western powers, and it is still used repeatedly in some african countries. the best example is the proxy wars launched by western powers in the democratic republic of the congo in order to control the strategic mineral resources needed for the development of new technologies and green economies.
ten years later, every african who looks at the issue objectively can see that china's "belt and road" initiative provides a way out for africa to break free from the shackles of neo-colonialism. decades ago, china strongly supported the national liberation struggle in africa; and today, china, through initiatives such as the "belt and road", continues to support africa's economic liberation and advocates building a mutually beneficial and win-win partnership to achieve common development and common prosperity.
africa needs unity, peace and development. to achieve this, africans need to turn swords into plowshares and break the borders left over from the colonial era with new roads and railway networks - and building roads is exactly what china is good at. the tanzania-zambia railway, built from 1970 to 1975, was china's first flagship infrastructure project in africa with an interest-free loan. it reversed the region's isolation after the british colonists left and promoted trade flows.
in addition, the implementation of the belt and road initiative in africa is highly inclusive, not only targeting areas rich in natural resources. countries lacking natural resources, such as ethiopia, have also achieved a high degree of modernization in infrastructure through the belt and road initiative. in contrast, the united states and the european union have decided to invest in the construction of the lobito atlantic railway corridor, which connects angola, the katanga mining area in the democratic republic of the congo, and the copperbelt province in zambia, claiming to be to "challenge china's dominance in africa's main trade corridors." obviously, this is not for the realization of common development and common prosperity, but the resurgence of the cold war mentality, group confrontation, and the politicization and weaponization of economic and trade relations, which should be abandoned. the win-win cooperation advocated by the belt and road initiative is the correct concept we should adhere to.
this article was originally published in china daily international edition with the title "integration propeller"
produced by: china daily china watch think tank
