China to boost fight against COVID-19 in Africa

Aug 29, 2020

"With the COVID-19 pandemic decimating production and slowing jobs and the fight against poverty, co-operation with China was critical to the revival of the industry."

With the COVID-19 pandemic dashing hopes for rapid industrialization in many parts of Africa, China is willing to boost the fight against the disease and manufacturing on the continent.

Speaking at a virtual China-Africa co-operation summit on Thursday, Zhao Xiyuan, the charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, pledged his country's support for the pandemic fight.

He said COVID-19 had ravaged both the health and livelihood of Africans and Chinese, presenting an opportunity for co-operation to deal with the shocks of the pandemic.

"China and Africa are both shouldered with the arduous tasks of combating the pandemic, stabilising the economy and improving people's well-being," the envoy said.

The two-day conference, attended by over 40 African and 15 Chinese experts, sought to explore ways to enhance cooperation in fighting COVID-19 and promoting manufacturing in Africa. 

With the virus largely under control in China, Zhao said the country would continue to share her experience with Africa where many countries are dealing with a complex surge of infections.

The continent provided support to China during the early stages of the pandemic and African students volunteered in Chinese communities, a contribution he said they would never forget.

Besides donations of testing kits, masks, and ventilators to the continent, Chinese medical experts are supporting the COVID-19 fight through training via online engagements, Zhao revealed.

According to him, African countries will be among the first to benefit from the first potent vaccine developed by Chinese scientists to combat COVID-19.

MANUFACTURING

As countries seek to revive the industry, ambassador Zhao said China was keen to partner with Africa on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC).

Prof. Peter Kagwanja, the president and chief executive of the Africa Policy Institute, co-host of the conference, said cooperation between China and Africa was evolving in form and structure. According to Kagwanja, the relationship has shifted from a centuries-old exchange of manufactured goods and technologies to that of investments that benefit the continent.

Presently, there are about 100 China-Africa joint industrial parks under construction or in operation. By the end of 2017, China's investment in Africa had exceeded $100b, the largest from a single country," he stated.

Over 10,000 Chinese firms are operating in Africa, about one-third of them in manufacturing. Chinese firms also account for at least 12% of Africa's industrial production, worth $500b.

With the COVID-19 pandemic decimating production and slowing jobs and the fight against poverty, Kagwanja maintained that co-operation with China was critical to the revival of the industry.

The continent must accelerate manufacturing and regional trade to reduce the commodity dependency trap, with the benefit of support from China, experts at the virtual summit argued.

They observed with concern that Africa lags behind in manufacturing and diversification of manufactured products, with limited skills transfer to locals. Li Xinfeng, the executive vice president of the China-Africa Institute, said China's early cooperation with Africa prevented a crisis in the continent where health systems are fragile.

Yonas Adaye, the assistant professor at the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, said China's good performance in the fight against COVID-19 and manufacturing were good references for Africa.

He noted that Chinese and African scholars have a role to play in promoting industrialisation in Africa while fighting the pandemic. The discussions at the conference also revolved around China's engagement with Africa through the Forum for China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

For the last 11 years, China has been Africa's largest trading partner and key promoter of the continent's African Union Agenda 2063 agenda hinged on industrialisation.

Since the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2006, China has set up six overseas economic and trade co-operation zones in five African countries and dozens of industrial parks across the continent.

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