中文
By Bereket Sisay
The bilateral cooperation between China and Burundi is a kind of fruitful collaboration that the former has with many African countries in a win-win manner. Bilateral relations between China and Burundi began in 1963, and since then the partnership has developed into various areas of cooperation. In particular, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have helped to promote and explore potential areas of partnership. As a result, the two countries have made significant progress in areas such as energy, infrastructure, agriculture and health.
Notable infrastructure projects built with financial and technical assistance include the Ruzibazi hydropower plant, which accounts for a large proportion of the total installed capacity in Burundi. China has contributed to Burundi's agricultural modernization by introducing various technological methods, including breeding systems, to help the country achieve food security through surplus production. China's technical assistance also touches on digital communications, enabling Burundi to switch from analog to digital broadcasting as an important step in the renovation of the country's digital platform. The two countries also have a long history of cooperation in the health sector, and through this partnership Burundi has been able to bring in Chinese health professionals to treat patients with chronic diseases, as well as medical equipment critical to expanding health services. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, in 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and Burundi was $130 million, and by the end of that year, direct investment from Chinese enterprises in Burundi was $19.59 million.
All these practical partnerships have demonstrated the strong relationship between China and Burundi, as the cooperation is based on mutual benefits. At the peak of this comprehensive relationship, on December 21 China and Burundi celebrate 60 years of cooperation, which has a broader impact on the whole of Africa. This is partly because China has consistently supported African countries to continue their development and play their part in the continent's transformation, as African countries face a number of obstacles in improving their economic infrastructure.
More than half a century of productive bilateral cooperation is a milestone that offers hope and serves as a springboard for an even more important partnership in the years to come. In this spirit of future collaboration, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye agreed to further strengthen the partnership when they met in July in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. On that occasion, President Xi reiterated that China will accelerate the progress of major cooperation projects to help Burundi achieve food self-sufficiency and sustainable development, which was welcomed by the Burundian side. Ndayishimiye expressed his willingness to further expand bilateral cooperation in agriculture, mining, livestock and other fields, as Burundi is endowed with untapped natural resources.
This type of partnership is important for Africa, particularly for East Africa, where cooperation is a critical factor in advancing the regional economic agenda. The African Development Bank's report shows that the region's medium-term economic growth will accelerate to 5.8 percent by 2024, outpacing all other African regions. That's partly because China has been helping to expand large-scale investment in countries in the region, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as a harbinger of pragmatic economic cooperation for several decades. Development cooperation like this could accelerate countries' progress towards robust economic growth, thereby contributing positively to regional development trajectories.
China also reiterated its willingness to push forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aligning the Global Development Initiative with the AU's Agenda 2063. This is a great opportunity for African countries to advance the cause of common development through practical cooperation and lay the foundation for a great economic take-off.
Meanwhile, African countries are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of high population growth, climate change-related problems and other pressures. This vicious circle of human development constraints can and must be broken once and for all through the mobilization of domestic resources, including financial and human resources. However, in the absence of adequate internal capacity to drive development efforts, development cooperation is of great importance. This is what Burundi and other African countries have done to transform their social and economic situation through cooperation with China.
African countries should therefore accelerate the pace of development and catch up with the global economic race by making better use of their resources, and by strengthening more pragmatic partnerships with trustworthy partners such as China, which has a proven track record of serving African interests.
Bereket Sisay is a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, with a special focus on Africa.
