Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver the keynote address of this year’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit on 5 September, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
Xi will preside over a banquet and bilateral meetings with African leaders, according to Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, speaking on Friday.
At a press briefing in the runup to the event, Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong said the theme of the summit will be: “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.”
He said the summit will include four high-level meetings focusing on state governance, industrialization and agricultural modernization, peace and security, and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. The summit will produce two direction-setting documents: a Declaration and an Action Plan.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? This year’s FOCAC comes amid an explosion of “Africa Plus One” summits. In fact, Indonesia will host the Indonesia Africa Forum before FOCAC, from 1 to 2 September. The proliferation of summits raises questions about FOCAC’s continued uniqueness and raises the pressure for concrete deliverables.
SUGGESTED READING:
- Financial Times: The Foreign Powers Competing to Win Influence in Africa by David Pilling
- Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Holds A Briefing for Chinese and Foreign Media on President Xi Jinping’s Attendance at the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
