China, Africa should bolster relations to safeguard interests of Global South

[Photo by Li Min/China Daily]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

The visit President Xi Jinping is paying to South Africa from Monday to Thursday, during which he will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg and pay a state visit to the country, looks set to inject fresh vitality into the development of bilateral ties as well as Sino-African relations at large.

President Xi has visited Africa four times over the past decade, and South Africa, the first African country to sign the Belt and Road Cooperation document and China's largest trading partner in Africa for 13 consecutive years, has been on his itinerary on three occasions during that period of time. That indicates the tremendous significance China attaches to its relations with South Africa and the continent as a whole.

Since China established diplomatic relations with the first African country — Egypt in 1956 — China and Africa have forged an unbreakable fraternity in their struggle against imperialism and colonialism, and their respective journeys toward development and revitalization. The key lies in the everlasting spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation forged between the two sides.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi putting forward the principles of "sincerity, real results, amity and good faith" as guidelines for China's Africa policy. And under these principles, China-Africa relations have made historic achievements that have brought tremendous tangible benefits to both peoples through such major projects as the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Headquarters, the Foundiougne Bridge in Senegal, the Nairobi Expressway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway.

As President Xi pointed out in a signed article published in South African media on Monday, a strong China-Africa relationship and productive China-Africa cooperation provide impetus for global development.

To ensure that the people of China and Africa benefit from the development outcomes, the two sides should further expand their cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing, new energy and the digital economy, and facilitate the African continent's economic integration, industrialization and agricultural modernization.

As Xi noted, China looks forward to African countries and the African Union playing a greater role in international and regional affairs, because what the world needs today is peace, not conflict; and what the world wants is coordination, not confrontation. China and Africa should "fear no hegemony", and work with each other as real partners to push forward relations amid the changing international landscape.

In this regard, all the members of the Global South should work together to give developing countries and emerging economies a greater voice and influence in international affairs, promote accelerated reform of the international financial institutions, and oppose unilateral sanctions and the "small yard, high fence" approach, so that they can jointly safeguard their common interests.