China’s strategic initiatives can foster lasting peace, sustainable development in Africa

CHINA: OVER the past decade, China, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping has actively led the vision for a global community of shared future for mankind. This vision emphasises the need for collective efforts to address global challenges, promote sustainable development and ensure peace and security.

For Africa, the vision of a global community with a shared future holds significant relevance, offering opportunities for growth, development and strengthened international partnerships.

To ensure that vision is achieved, Presient Xi introduced four major strategic initiatives that could help African countries achieve the goals of the UN 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and AU Agenda 2063.

As we all know, internal and regional conflicts and the lack of permanent peace is some of the reasons that had been hindering the economic growth in Africa.

To be able to achieve lasting peace and sustainable development, African countries should cooperate more closely with China and ensure that they use the guidance of China’s initiatives of Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GCI), Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI), Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to address their internal conflicts and make economic reforms in their countries.

These initiatives stands out as key frameworks that serve as platforms for implementing the vision for a global community of shared future for mankind.

FOCAC has also served as an important platform, bringing together leaders and officials from Africa and China to discuss and enhance their diplomatic, economic and social ties.

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The Global Development Initiative (GDI), aims to promote sustainable development and addresses the imbalances in global development, particularly the gap between the Global North and South. It emphasises the importance of equitable access to resources, technology transfer and capacity building.

The GDI is designed to complement and accelerate the implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, emphasising areas such as poverty alleviation, food security, public health and green development, providing a framework for international cooperation on development issues.

Due to its purposes and goals, China has been using the GDI to address Africa’s challenges by providing scholarships for higher learning, professional and technical training, agricultural training, administrative and governance training as well as building technical colleges, schools, hospitals etc. All this is to support Africa in capacity building and enable Africans get expertise and various skills.

The Global Security Initiative (GSI) reflects China’s vision for a more stable and peaceful world order. In a world marked by geopolitical tensions and security challenges, the GSI was introduced to promote a new vision of global security that emphasises dialogue, multilateral cooperation rather than unilateral actions or military interventions as a way of resolving conflict.

The GSI advocates for a security framework based on mutual respect, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and peaceful resolution of conflicts aligning with the five principles of peaceful coexistence.

This initiative encourages countries to engage in dialogue and joint efforts to address common security challenges, thereby contributing to a more stable and peaceful global environment. Taking peace and stability of the African countries and the region as the starting point and ultimate objective, China always promotes peace talks, persuades through reasoning, without taking sides or seeking private geopolitical interests.

This approach injects new elements and impetus into the cause of African peace and security. Therefore, African countries should use China’s GSI recommendations to end their internal and regional conflicts and create a body that will be able to solve current and future conflicts.

The Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI) emphasises the importance of cultural exchange and mutual understanding among civilisations. It seeks to enhance understanding and cooperation among different cultures, promoting the idea that diverse civilisations can coexist harmoniously, counter cultural supremacy and contribute to an integrated global community for mankind.

The GCI seeks to promote dialogue among civilisations, highlighting the value of diversity and the need for respect and tolerance. It promotes the idea that no single civilisation is superior to others and that all cultures have valuable contributions to make to global progress. It is indisputable facts that in Africa, there many and all kind of classes that cause separation and misunderstanding.

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There are ethnic, regional, blocks, religious and racial classes. The existence of these classes is the main source of the emergence of many conflicts and causes discord in Africa.

To end these classes and build a society of people who respect each other, value each other and cooperate to each other, African countries should implement and use the guidance of the GCI to fostering a sense of shared identity and common purpose among nations. In regard to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the BRI is an ambitious infrastructure and economic development project that seeks to enhance connectivity and trade across Asia, Africa and beyond.

The BRI serves as a practical platform that China uses to show its commitment to a global community of shared future. By building roads, railways, ports, trade corridors and other infrastructure, the BRI aims to create a vast network that facilitates economic integration and cooperation across continents.

These crucial infrastructures have contributed greatly in reducing infrastructure gap in African countries. It important to note that the deterioration of Africa’s development and peace is mainly caused by internal conflicts which are mainly caused by external interference as well as the lack of unity and cooperation among African countries in resolving their internal and regional conflicts.

The failure African countries to have a unified position has been the main source of the continent’s problems and slowdown in economic growth. Therefore, for African countries to achieve a lasting peace and sustainable development, they should first unite and have a common position on how to resolve their internal problems and prevent future conflicts from occurring.

Those countries should cooperate closely with China and ensure that they implement all its initiatives. The implementation of these initiatives will reduce tensions and enable African countries to achieve lasting peace and sustainable development.

To promote a mutually beneficial and inclusive economic cooperation and share the benefits of development, China and Africa must agree to remove all trade and economic barriers and establish a more resilient, inclusive and efficient global chain.

As we all know, economic sanctions and trade barriers have been a major obstacle to the world’s economic development including that of China and Africa.

Western’s economic sanctions and trade barriers have been holding back the development of the targeted countries and weakening the development of the people and the world as a whole.

Due to the effects of these sanctions, Africa countries must and should stop imposing sanctions against each other, instead, they need to find the best way and prioritise diplomacy in resolving their conflicts rather than relying on economic sanctions which harms and weaken the economy of the country concern.

Among other thing, China and Africa should respect and defend each other’s national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the right to development.

As it is the practise and behaviour of Western countries to interfere in the internal affairs of other country, they have also been and still continue to interfere in the internal affairs of African countries including China.

This tendency has been a major source of the emergence of many conflicts in the developing countries including Africa.

Therefore, China and Africa must strongly oppose any form of interference policy and should not imitate this behaviour. It is important to note that, China is ready to help resolve the ongoing conflicts in Africa in a peaceful manner without imposing sanctions and or using military force.

Thus, all African countries should give diplomacy a priority to resolve their conflicts and avoid future conflict from arising. To promote the development and improve the lives of their people, China and Africa need to strengthen their trade and economic cooperation, develop modern industries and agriculture in order to make a positive contribution to promoting the economic cycle of their countries.

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To achieve this, it is necessary for both countries to remove all kinds of trade barriers between them and forge ahead by creating a common markets and free trade zones. In regard to this, China has been helping African countries increase their products export and cancelled the import tariffs on 98% of goods including agriculture products from African countries.

China’s zero tariffs cancellation has helped African countries increase their export volume and ensure steady growth in ChinaAfrica agricultural trade. At the 2024 FOCAC summit, China granted duty-free treatment to 100 per cent of the tariffs lines of products from least developed countries with diplomatic ties with it.

China’s duty free treatment will greatly boost the African economy and help African countries increase their export volume and ensure steady growth in China-Africa agricultural trade.

For Africa, China’s strategic initiatives such as GDI, GSI, GCI and BRI collectively provide valuable opportunities for development, security and cultural exchange, offering pathways to stronger international partnerships and shared growth.

By implementing China’s initiatives is one step forward towards the pinnacle of success and achieving sustainable development.

• The writer is a Dar es Salaam-based analyst on international politics and foreign relations. Email: cleophacegeorge@ gmail.com)