construction of the african free trade area, activation of the tanzania-zambia railway... what are the highlights of china and africa working together to promote modernization?
2024-09-09
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on may 18, huang zinan (right), head of hunan xiyue international trade co., ltd., selected flowers at tambuzi flower farm in nanyuki, kenya. photo by xinhua news agency reporter wang guansenat the 2024 forum on china-africa cooperation summit, china proposed that china and africa should work together to promote the "six modernizations" and jointly promote the ten major modernization partnership actions in the next three years; china will also provide assistance for the construction of the african continental free trade area; the heads of state of china, tanzania and zambia witnessed the signing of the "memorandum of understanding on the tanzania-zambia railway activation project".
what is the profound connotation of china and africa working together to promote the "six modernizations"? how will china help build the african free trade area, one of the world's largest free trade areas? how will the tanzania-zambia railway, a symbol of china-africa cooperation, be activated in the new era? although the summit has ended, the strong voice of china-africa cooperation and the grand and eye-catching plans will undoubtedly continue to receive high attention.
“six modernizations”:an action guide for china and africa to work together to promote modernization
china and africa are working together to promote the "six modernizations", which refer to fair and reasonable modernization, open and win-win modernization, people-centered modernization, diversified and inclusive modernization, eco-friendly modernization, and peaceful and secure modernization. china has made it clear that china and africa account for one-third of the world's total population. without the modernization of china and africa, there will be no modernization of the world.
yin yue, deputy director of the institute of african studies at the china institutes of contemporary international relations, told a reporter from the beijing daily client that the "six modernizations" is china's first new expression of integrating the concept of chinese-style modernization into global regional cooperation, which has greatly enriched the contemporary significance and scientific connotation of china's joint efforts with african countries and even the entire "global south" to promote modernization. yin yue said that china and africa jointly promoting modernization is not only in the fundamental interests of both sides, but will also provide useful experience and reference for the modernization development of countries around the world. the "six modernizations" are an action guide for china and africa to jointly promote modernization, which was proposed by china on the basis of summarizing the historical experience of chinese-style modernization, drawing on and absorbing the outstanding achievements of modernization in various countries around the world, and taking into account the actual situation of africa's development. it will surely lead china-africa cooperation to a broader future.
in november 2023, exhibitors in the congo (kinshasa) pavilion of the 6th ciie national exhibition displayed coffee products produced in kinshasa. photo by xinhua news agency reporter meng tao"china and africa are both 'latecomers' in the wave of international development. now, china and africa have made many remarkable achievements on the road to modernization, and have a deeper understanding of modernization, a common mission of mankind." zhao pei, associate researcher at the school of international relations and public affairs of shanghai international studies university, said that china and africa took the initiative to propose the "six modernizations" and the "ten partner actions" as support. compared with the previous cooperation plans such as the "nine projects", china-africa cooperation has risen from cooperation in specific development areas to sharing of common development concepts, and from mutual exchange of technical capabilities to mutual integration of ideas and understandings. "china and africa are more confident and innovative on development issues. the 'six modernizations' are china and africa's imagination of a community with a shared future for mankind in the future."
african free trade area:china supports the construction of free trade zones in an all-round and three-dimensional manner
in the beijing declaration on building an all-weather china-africa community with a shared future in the new era, china and africa stressed that the african continental free trade area is of great significance. china will continue to support the comprehensive construction of the african continental free trade area.
the african continental free trade area was officially established in july 2019 and started operations in january 2021. it is one of the largest free trade areas in the world. osman, the african union's representative to china, said in an interview with a reporter from beijing daily client that the launch of the african free trade area was because trade within africa is very limited, accounting for only about 16% of africa's total trade. the african free trade area hopes to increase this proportion to 50%.
"for a long time, each country has been connecting with the world market separately, and has never been able to shake off its marginal vassal status in the world market formed in the colonial era. for example, ghana produces cocoa and ethiopia produces coffee, but the two sides do not need each other's cocoa and coffee." yin yue said that china regards africa as a key target of capacity cooperation, helping africa to establish industrial parks, realize "made in africa", improve africa's industrialization level, and make trade ties between african countries closer, which is conducive to breaking the inherent obstacles to the development of the african free trade area.
during the pineapple harvest season, fruit merchants and farmers carry pineapples in kiwangwa village in bagamoyo, tanzania. xinhua news agencyzhao pei has conducted research in industrial parks and free trade zones in many african countries. he introduced that in the process of building industrial parks and free trade zones in africa, chinese enterprises and merchants, relying on their rich experience in building "special economic zones", participated in it in various forms such as capital, technology, and market, becoming an active driving force. china's cooperation in building the african free trade zone is a strategic partnership designed from the top level, various specific cooperation agreements between china and africa at the middle level, to the actual participation of enterprises. china's support for the construction of the african free trade zone will be all-round and three-dimensional.
at the summit, china also decided to grant zero tariff treatment to 100% of tariff items of all the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with china, including 33 african countries. yin yue said that china has signed the first bilateral free trade agreement between china and africa with mauritius. if china and africa can carry out more free trade cooperation in the future and the two sides jointly explore ways to reduce trade barriers, it will be a great boon to china-africa cooperation and china's support for the construction of the african free trade area.
activate the tanzania-zambia railway:market demand brings good prospects for the project
the tanzania-zambia railway is a monument to china-africa friendship. the signing of the memorandum of understanding on the activation of the tanzania-zambia railway project witnessed by the three heads of state is undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching achievements of this china-africa cooperation forum.
why should the tanzania-zambia railway be activated? zhao pei told the reporter of beijing daily client that the tanzania-zambia railway is a symbol of china-africa friendly cooperation, but many years after its completion, due to the slow economic development in the region, the volume of goods and personnel transported is not as expected, the benefits of driving economic growth and the price advantage of railway transportation are not fully reflected, and the volume is not saturated and maintenance is not in place. with the healthy development of the economy in central and eastern africa, the old tanzania-zambia railway can no longer meet the growing demand for transportation capacity. at this time, it is necessary to reactivate the tanzania-zambia railway and build a modern railway system with higher standards.
on march 24, 2023, zambian president hichilema cut the ribbon for unit 5 of the lower kafue gorge hydropower station in southern province. so far, all units of the lower kafue gorge hydropower station, built by china power construction, have been put into operation. photo by xinhua news agency reporter peng lijunthe tanzania-zambia railway is 1,860 kilometers long, starting from dar es salaam in tanzania in the east and ending at kapiri mposhi in central zambia in the west. when it was first planned in the 1960s, it was considered an important channel for the export of zambia's mineral resources.
yin yue said that the tanzania-zambia railway is still in operation nearly 50 years after its completion, but there are indeed operational problems such as cargo and personnel. the decision of china, tanzania and zambia to reactivate the tanzania-zambia railway is also due to the current market demand. due to insufficient infrastructure construction, zambia, as an important mineral exporter, still has huge demand for mineral exports; tanzania hopes to build itself into a new shipping center in east africa and is building an important central railway project in the country. if the tanzania-zambia railway can be activated, two economic arteries will be realized in tanzania in the future. yin yue pointed out that at present, the tanzania-zambia railway activation project has market conditions, and a good economic prospect will be the guarantee for the successful activation of the tanzania-zambia railway.
