Africa Focus: Africa has high expectations for China-Africa Summit: S. African officials

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- African countries have high expectations for the Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) due in Johannesburg on Dec. 4 to 5, South African officials say.

South Africa is now at an advanced stage of preparations for the important meeting for which the African continent has high expectations, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said.

The minister said South Africa expects the meeting to promote mutual benefits.

Nosipho Mxakato-Diseko, Deputy Director at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said the preparations were progressing well.

"Everything is set and negotiations on the outcomes are well advanced. We are exchanging drafts with China and other African countries," she told Xinhua.

African countries have contributed their inputs to the FOCAC meeting which is a continental conference and will be hosted by South Africa, she said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, African leaders, and representatives of the African Union and other regional organizations will attend the summit aimed at reviewing and further enhancing China-Africa ties.

"We have high expectations. We continue to grow Africa-China partnership which is mutually respectful and beneficial," said Mxakato-Diseko.

China is Africa's biggest trading partner and has sponsored major projects in the continent.

Mxakato-Diseko said Africa expects China's help in achieving its blue print of development -- the African Agenda 2063.

"We also expect China to support Agenda 2063, especially the first 10-year implementation plan. We are defining the mutual beneficial areas. We can share experience on how to lift the masses of our people out of poverty," she said.

She said there would be various parallel discussions during the summit, including talks between ministers who would also refer important issues to their heads of state.

There would also be discussions between academics with the aim of improving China-Africa relations, she added.

"It's not like China saying 'take this and we accept.' And It's not like Africa saying to China 'this is what we want from you.' From now until the close of the session, we will be negotiating about what would be the package for our countries," she said.

"FOCAC should be an important moment for Africa because China continues to be a big economic player. Trade between Africa and China has grown and relationships have expanded in a big way," said Siphamandla Zondi, the director of the Institute for Global Dialogue and a member of the South African Council for International Relations.

He suggested African countries prioritizing infrastructure development at the summit taking advantage of China-initiated multilateral financial institutions.

"It seems like an opportune moment for Africa to clearly define what it wants to get out of the FOCAC. What should rank supreme is infrastructure investment given the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank by China and the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). These provide a lot of capital market initiatives in the area of investments," he said.

Africa's major obstacle to economic development is its obsolete infrastructure. The World Bank puts Africa's infrastructure gap at an estimated 93 billion U.S. dollars.

"If Africa gets all the resources necessary to boost infrastructure, especially intra-regional infrastructure or continental infrastructure from Cape to Cairo, that would have been an investment in Africa's future in the real sense of the word," he said.

He said infrastructure development could fast track Africa's economic development, and "catalyze other areas of growth that Africa urgently needs."

He also called for enhanced coordination between African countries and China in international affairs including the United Nations reforms that could benefit developing countries.

"What Africa should think about is coordination with China and use this relationship to get better outcomes in international negotiations because China is increasingly a big game changer in international negotiations on finance for development and climate change," he said.

Zondi also said Africa should be clear about what support they want from China and decide before hand about their expectations, being mindful of what China has done and is capable of offering.

"We must be very clear on what must be the pivot around which our strategy revolves. It must be decided not on the dreams and illusions but on the basis of our experience in our relationship with China where we derive the value from China's contribution to infrastructure or construction and China's investment broadly and trade in Africa," he said.

Africa, he said, must use their relationship with China to solve their domestic challenges and advance what they advocate for.

"It must be based in our experience and it must be based on our analysis about what China can offer. What we should just embrace must be those things which must help us achieve our goals under NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) or the African Union so that we can move faster than we have done," he said.