China Sets Dates for 9th FOCAC Summit 2024
Finally, China has fixed the dates for holding the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation 2024 (#FOCAC2024). The 9th FOCAC Summit will take place in Beijing from 3 to 8 September 2024.
On 29 May 2024, the Ambassador of the People‘s Republic of China ZHANG Liyong handed an official letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda Abubakhar Odongo in order to extend the invitation from President Xi Jingping addressed to President Yoweri Museveni to attend the #FOCAC Summit.
Chinese embassies in other African countries will be liaising soon with the local government to determine the cooperation agenda. In addition, we can expect Chinese delegations to targeted countries.
For this edition, in addition to the Plenary Session co-chaired by President XI Jinping and an African leader, a China-Africa Entrepreneurs Conference, and a Joint Press Conference by African Foreign Ministers and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also on the program.
Other than the Belt and Road Initiative (#BRI), China has also put forward the Global Development Initiative (#GDI) in order to build a ‘Community of Shared Future’.
Faced with criticisms from certain quarters, China has tweaked its narrative from ‘mega-projects’ to ‘high-quality projects’ with an emphasis on economic viability, benefits to the local community and eco-friendliness.
At the last FOCAC Summit, President XI Jinping pledged USD 40 billion in financial support to Africa. This represents a decrease from the previous edition when USD 60 billion was promised. Furthermore, it would appear that the follow-up mechanism on financing does leave room for improvement.
Observers believe that the decrease in funding is partly due to the economic headwinds that China is facing. Currently, China is being battered on two fronts: geopolitical rivalry and domestic woes.
As a warm-up to the #FOCAC Summit, a High-Level Meeting on Global Action for Shared Development is scheduled in Beijing from 7 to 11 July 2024. Back in October 2023, a FOCAC Senior Officials Meeting also took place in Beijing in preparation for the 9th Summit.