The 13th meeting of CATTF was recently held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, under the theme of "China-Africa Practices in Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind". Over 300 participants — including representatives of international organizations in Tanzania, diplomats, and government officials, think tank scholars and entrepreneurs from 50 Chinese and African countries — attended the conference online or offline. Participants focused on cooperation mechanisms, strategic initiatives and practical actions in industrialization, agricultural modernization and talent development, contributing insights to advance China-Africa friendly cooperation.

"The FOCAC has fostered the booming of Africa-China relations"

Currently, China and Africa are working together to accelerate the implementation of the "Nine Programs" of the FOCAC and advance the realization of the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035. The new session of the FOCAC will be held in China this autumn. As a key FOCAC sub-forum, the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum provides policy recommendations for bilateral development cooperation. Participants spoke highly of achievements made by China-Africa cooperation and expressed expectations for deeper collaboration between the two sides.

Nelson Boniface, Executive President of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, stated that the CATTF serves as a vital platform for people-to-people exchanges between Africa and China. Topics such as industrialization, agricultural modernization, green development, trade and investment, and poverty alleviation receive extensive attention and discussion at the forum, providing robust support for strengthening Tanzania-China and Africa-China cooperation.

Ezekiel Nibigira, former Foreign Minister of Burundi, has attended multiple FOCAC meetings. He remarked, "I sense the solidarity between both sides in Africa-China cooperation." "Africa-China relations are developed on the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation", said Nibigira, who called for sustaining traditional friendship, enhancing mutual trust and strengthening win-win cooperation between Africa and China.

"FOCAC has invigorated Africa-China relations and facilitated the building of a shared future", said James Mdoe, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Tanzania’s Ministry of Education and Technology, noting that capacity-building initiatives under the "Nine Programs" have significantly enhanced educational cooperation and talent development in Africa. At the 2023 China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue, China proposed three initiatives: the "Initiative on Supporting Africa's Industrialization", the "Plan for China Supporting Africa’s Agricultural Modernization", and the "Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development" to support Africa’s integration and modernization. These measures "will make significant contributions to Africa’s economic development".

Gilbert Muguli Kadiagala, Director of the Africa-America Research Center at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, stated that peace and development are the themes of our era, and security is crucial for Africa’s development. It is hoped that the upcoming new session of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will make fresh contributions to promoting Africa's security and stability. The success of the FOCAC stems from years of effort, and continued collaboration between Africa and China will lay a solid foundation for building a high-level Africa-China community with a shared future.

"African countries can draw lessons from China's development experience".

At this meeting, Chinese and African scholars conducted in-depth discussions on major global challenges, proposed joint solutions, and released the "China-Africa Think Tanks Consensus on Deepening Global Development Cooperation", also known as the "Africa-China Dar es Salaam Consensus". The Consensus calls on the international community to deepen development cooperation under principles of mutual respect, solidarity, open win-win outcomes and shared prosperity, advocating a people-centered development philosophy, creating favorable institutional environments for all to pursue better lives, and emphasizing civilizational dialogue over conflict, respecting diverse historical traditions and national conditions while supporting modernization paths tailored to each country’s need and civilizational uniqueness.

"A true friend is one who extends a helping hand in times of need", said Paul Frimpong, Executive Director of the Ghana-based Africa-China Center for Policy and Advisory, noting that China is a responsible partner. Under FOCAC and the Belt and Road Initiative framework, bilateral cooperation has vigorously propelled Africa’s socio-economic progress.

"China has always supported the independent development of African countries and is willing to share its experiences in governance, modernization and poverty alleviation with African countries", said Sherif, Chairman of the Liberia-China Friendship Association. Over the past decades, China has consistently dispatched medical teams and agricultural experts to African countries, significantly advancing the development of healthcare, agriculture and talent cultivation in Africa.

Phyllis Johnson, founder and senior researcher at Zimbabwe’s Southern African Research and Documentation Center, observes that Africa and China share similar historical experiences and a common historical mission. African countries can learn from China to forge their own distinctive development models. Africa and China have established a solid foundation for cooperation across many sectors, and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement will bring even greater opportunities for collaboration.

Professor Khaled Hames from Mohammed V University’s Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences noted that Africa-China cooperation is built on mutual respect, urging Africa to continue learning from China's development experience by strengthening infrastructure like railways and roads, and advancing higher education and the digital economy.

Norris, Administrative Chancellor of the University of Botswana, stated: "African countries can draw lessons from China's development experience to promote economic growth, improve social governance and explore development paths suited to their national conditions".

"It has promoted infrastructure development in Africa and enhanced regional connectivity."

Africa is a key participant in cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, with 52 African countries and the AU Commission having signed relevant agreements with China. African experts at the meeting noted that under the pragmatic cooperation initiatives of the FOCAC, the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative between Africa and China has yielded fruitful outcomes, with bilateral relations maintaining a strong momentum of development.

"Over the past decade, sustained Africa-China relations have laid a stronger foundation for cooperation", said Magdy Refaat Abul-Magd, former Assistant Foreign Minister of Egypt, noting that the Belt and Road Initiative has enhanced infrastructure, connectivity and trade, evolving into a transformative global endeavor.

In October last year, Gedion Jalata, CEO of Ethiopia's Excellence International Consulting Center, attended the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. He highly commended China's eight actions to support high-quality cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative. He stated that under the framework of the FOCAC and the Belt and Road Initiative, a series of projects jointly undertaken by China and Africa have "boosted infrastructure development across the Continent and enhanced regional connectivity".

"The Belt and Road Initiative has significantly boosted Comoros’ blue economy", said Mohamed Omar Rachid, Foreign Affairs Advisor at Comoros' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noting that as an island nation, developing the blue economy is vital, with investments from China making major contributions to marine aquaculture, offshore fishing, seafood processing, marine biopharmaceuticals, maritime tourism, and clean energy like solar, wind and tidal power.

"China is a reliable and important partner", said Liliane Andia Lisimo Aangbo, Executive Director of the Center for International Strategy and Security Studies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, noting that practical cooperation between the DRC and China in infrastructure, trade, energy, agriculture, health and the like fields has yielded tangible results, genuinely benefiting local communities. Last October, the Busanga Hydropower Station, invested by Chinese enterprises, was inaugurated, significantly boosting DR Congo’s economic development.

Beda Mutagahywa, Dean of the School of Engineering at Tanzania's St. Augustine University, stated that practical cooperation between Africa and China has deepened across various fields in recent years, with African countries continually learning from China's development experience. We hope African countries and China will further strengthen cooperation in talent cultivation, industrialization and rural development.