New model for multilateral cooperation

Building a China-Africa community with a shared future is not only a continuation of the traditional friendship between the two sides, but also a strategic response to the current global challenges. The Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era, adopted at the Beijing Summit in early September, clearly states that "China and Africa will always honor the everlasting spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, characterized by sincere friendship and equality, win-win for mutual benefits and common development, fairness and justice, and progress with the times and openness and inclusiveness, jointly build an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era".

The "all-weather" in this declaration highlights the resilience and long-term nature of China-Africa ties, indicating that cooperation between the two sides is not just about economic growth, but also a strategic cooperation for global governance and a new international order. This has endowed China-Africa relations with broader political connotations in the new era.

The declaration appreciates the joint release of the Africa-China Dar es Salaam Consensus, which puts forward constructive ideas on how to address current global challenges and fully consolidates the consensus and concepts of the two sides.

On Aug 27, President Xi Jinping replied to scholars from 50 African countries, encouraging them to contribute intellectual support for building a higher-level China-Africa community with a shared future and safeguarding the common interests of the Global South.

Another outcome document of the Beijing Summit, the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2025-27), sets specific goals for China-Africa cooperation in the next three years, especially to enhance cooperation in areas such as industrialization, agricultural modernization, green development, digital economy, education cooperation and cultural exchanges. Africa is at a critical stage of industrialization and modernization, and China has accumulated ample experience and gained technological advantages in these fields. Therefore, cooperation can promote Africa's independent development through capacity docking, technology transfer and other means.

The action plan also specifically mentions the agenda of green and sustainable development, which is in line with the Global Development Initiative. The cooperation between China and Africa in addressing climate change, protecting the ecological environment and promoting clean energy marks a gradual shift in China-Africa relations from traditional infrastructure construction and resource development to a path featuring higher quality and more sustainable growth. This not only meets the actual needs of African countries, but also demonstrates the two sides' willingness to provide solutions to common global challenges through cooperation.

It also emphasizes the exchange of think tanks and educational cooperation, which is in line with China's Global Civilization Initiative. The key to having sound relations between states lies in amity between the people. The efforts to promote the construction of a China-Africa think tank cooperation network, strengthen academic exchanges and partnership, mutual learning of civilizations and cultural exchanges will effectively enhance understanding and communication between the Chinese and African peoples, and advance talent cultivation and the empowerment of women and children in Africa, which will provide an inexhaustible source of intellectual support for Africa's modernization and independent development.

The Global Development Initiative is a key initiative proposed by China to promote global sustainable development and narrow the North-South gap. The China-Africa joint statement on deepening cooperation within the framework of the Global Development Initiative, released at the 2024 FOCAC summit, reflects the high importance that both sides attach to this initiative. The statement mentions that China and Africa will deepen cooperation in areas such as poverty alleviation, food security, health and green development. Both sides agreed to further work closely together, especially in combating the epidemic and rebuilding the public health system.

The essence of the Global Development Initiative is to seek common development, and as Africa is the continent with the highest concentration of developing countries in the world, its development directly determines the result of the global development agenda. That China and Africa further deepen their cooperation through the Global Development Initiative is not only a precise response to Africa's development needs, but also a concrete manifestation of China's leadership role on the global development stage.

China-Africa cooperation is not only related to bilateral interests, but also an important practice of global multilateralism. Against the backdrop of accelerating adjustments in the global political landscape, it has surpassed traditional aid models and become a new paradigm of international cooperation. The content of multilateralism and global governance cooperation in the Beijing Declaration manifests the two sides' joint efforts in promoting the democratization of the international order and strengthening South-South cooperation.

The construction of the China-Africa community with a shared future emphasizes mutual support between the two sides in international affairs, especially in the United Nations and other international organizations, China and Africa should strengthen coordination and cooperation, speak out for each other, and promote global governance in a more just and reasonable direction. This partnership will play a key role in addressing major global challenges such as climate change, epidemic disease prevention and control, and development gap in the future.

The construction of the China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era demonstrates the joint responsibility and commitment of both sides in global development and international cooperation. Through a series of documents released at the 2024 Summit of the FOCAC in Beijing, especially the Beijing Declaration and the Action Plan, China and Africa have set specific directions and goals for cooperation in the next three years, covering various fields such as politics, economy and culture. This not only reflects the high-level development of China-Africa ties, but also indicates that the relationship between the two sides will keep deepening in the changing global landscape.

As a major driving force for global development, building a China-Africa community with a shared future provides a new model for global multilateral cooperation and common development. In such an ever-changing era, China-Africa ties will continue to serve as the cornerstone of global South-South cooperation with its firm strategic determination and flexible mechanisms.

The author is a professor and vice-dean of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.