The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Johannesburg Action Plan(2016-2018)

1. Preamble

1.1 The Johannesburg Summit and the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) were held in Johannesburg from 3 to 5 December 2015. Heads of State and Government, Heads of Delegation, the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers in charge of economic cooperation from China and 50 African countries (hereafter referred to as "the two sides") attended the Summit and Ministerial Conference respectively.

1.2 The two sides reviewed with satisfaction the development of relations between China and Africa and applauded the positive contribution FOCAC had made over the past 15 years since its inception in advancing the comprehensive and in-depth development of China-Africa relations, and agreed that FOCAC had become both a key platform for collective dialogue between China and African countries, and an effective mechanism for practical cooperation.

1.3 The two sides share the view that, as China works for the Two Centenary Goals and as Africa implements Agenda 2063 and its First 10-Year Implementation Plan, the current development strategies of China and Africa are highly compatible. The two sides shall make full use of their comparative advantages to transform and upgrade mutually beneficial cooperation focusing on better quality and higher efficiency to ensure the common prosperity of our peoples.

1.4 The two sides are satisfied with the effective implementation of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2013-2015) adopted at the 5th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC, and decide, in the spirit of the Johannesburg Declaration of the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, to jointly establish and develop comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership between China and Africa featuring political equality and mutual trust, economic cooperation for win-win results, exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and African civilizations, mutual assistance in security affairs, as well as solidarity and cooperation in international affairs.

1.5 In order to implement the outcomes of the Summit and the Conference, and chart the course of China-Africa friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields in the next three years under the theme of "China-Africa Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development", the two sides jointly formulate and adopt with consensus this Action Plan.

2. Political Cooperation

2.1 High-level Visits and Dialogue

The two sides will continue to encourage high-level mutual visits and dialogue in order to consolidate traditional friendship, enhance political mutual trust and deepen strategic consensus and coordination.

2.2 Consultation and Cooperation Mechanisms

2.2.1 So as to enhance the planning and implementation of relations and cooperation between China and African countries, the two sides agree to improve and encourage mechanisms such as bilateral joint commissions, strategic dialogues, foreign ministries' political consultations, and joint/mixed commissions on economic and trade cooperation.

2.2.2 The two sides will continue to strengthen the mechanism of regular political consultations between Chinese and African Foreign Ministers.

2.3 Exchanges between Legislatures, Consultative Bodies, Political Parties and Local Governments

2.3.1 The two sides will enhance exchanges and cooperation between the National People's Congress of China and African national parliaments, regional parliaments, the Pan-African Parliament and the African Parliamentary Union, to consolidate the traditional China-Africa friendship and promote mutually beneficial cooperation.

2.3.2 The two sides will expand and enhance exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and African national parliaments, regional parliaments, the Pan-African Parliament and the African Parliamentary Union.

2.3.3 The two sides will deepen exchanges between the China Economic and Social Council, the AU Economic, Social and Cultural Committee, and the economic and social councils and other relevant institutions in African countries.

2.3.4 The two sides will increase the frequency of high-level contacts between political parties, enhance cooperation on personnel training, deepen bilateral and multilateral political dialogues, and increase experience sharing on governance and national development.

2.3.5 The two sides will promote exchanges and cooperation between local governments, and support the establishment of more sister provinces/cities relationships, as well as the institutionalization of the China-Africa Forum on Cooperation between Local Governments.

2.4 China and the African Union and the African Sub-Regions

2.4.1 The two sides recognize the important role of the African Union in safeguarding peace and stability in Africa, promoting the development of Africa, and advancing the integration process of Africa. The two sides, furthermore, acknowledge with appreciation the efforts and contributions made by China to support Africa's peaceful and stable development and integration.

2.4.2 The two sides appreciate the comprehensive development of relations between China, sub-regional and pan-african organizations and the African Union, agree to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, continue to improve the strategic dialogue mechanism, and enhance strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation.

2.4.3 China appreciates the adoption of Agenda 2063 and its First 10-Year Implementation Plan by the African Union, and will continue to support the African Union in its efforts to build a united, integrated and prosperous Africa that is at peace with itself and the world.

2.4.4 The Chinese side appreciates the positive role of the African Union Commission since it became a member of the FOCAC, and will also continue to strengthen cooperation with and support for the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

2.4.5 The two sides agree to actively implement the Memorandum of Understanding on the Promotion of China-Africa Cooperation in the Fields of Railway, Highway, Regional Aviation Networks and Industrialization, making good use of existing cooperation mechanisms such as the Joint Working Group of Transnational and Trans-regional Infrastructure Cooperation in Africa, and to promote practical cooperation between China and the African Union in priority fields.

2.4.6 The African Union appreciates the establishment of the Mission of China to the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. China invites the African Union to establish a representative office in Beijing at an early date.

2.4.7 The Chinese side will further support the capacity building of the African Union and sub-regional organizations in Africa in various forms, such as through human resources development.

2.4.8 The Chinese side will establish and improve mechanisms of economic and trade cooperation with regional and sub-regional organizations in Africa, enhance economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa at regional and multilateral levels. The Chinese side welcomes and supports African initiatives regarding the creation of free trade zones and will study the possibility of establishing free trade zone cooperation.

3. Economic Cooperation

3.1 Agriculture and Food Security

3.1.1 The two sides agree that realizing agriculture modernization in Africa by strengthening China-Africa agricultural cooperation is an important way to contribute to food security in Africa, and should be given priority in the context of China-Africa cooperation projects. The cooperation will enhance agricultural transformation and upgrading, increase agricultural production, processing and income, and safeguard food security in Africa bearing in mind the prevailing regulatory requirements.

3.1.2 The two sides will continue to strengthen cooperation in the fields of agricultural policy consultation, planning and design, and support the implementation of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) through assisting to build agriculture technology demonstration centres, sending professionals for technical cooperation, and training agricultural technicians. In this regard, the African side appreciates the support already rendered by the Chinese government for African countries to implement the CAADP.

3.1.3 The Chinese side will carry out agricultural demonstration projects in Africa, build or upgrade agricultural technology demonstration centres, make effective use of such centres focusing on agricultural research, demonstration and training, expanding training, transferring breeding and plantation technologies and cooperate with African countries to increase agricultural unit productivity.

3.1.4 The Chinese side will continue to send 30 teams of senior agriculture experts and teachers to provide vocational education to African countries, as well as to increase the number of African personnel trained in agro-technology and administration in China, in order to improve overall agricultural technology and management.

3.1.5. The Chinese side will help African countries develop water conservancy and irrigation projects, implement the project of "Agriculture Leads to Prosperity" in 100 African villages, provide African countries with emergency food assistance.

3.1.6 The two sides will actively cooperate in agricultural project designing, financing and management under the framework of the CAADP, as implemented through the AU and NEPAD, and offer support to feasibility studies on agricultural infrastructure construction.

3.1.7 The Chinese side will continue to work with African countries to jointly implement high quality and high yield agricultural demonstration projects, encourage and guide China's agro-science research organizations and enterprises to work with their African counterparts to carry out experimental demonstrations for high-quality and high-yield agriculture, establish "10+10" cooperative mechanism among China-Africa agro-science research institutions, focus on facilitating joint research on breeding and the production of seeds as well as plant protection, specifically focusing on increasing outputs of grain, cotton and other key crops in African countries.

3.1.8 The Chinese side will encourage and support Chinese enterprises to invest in agriculture in Africa; implement cooperation projects focusing on technical support in grain planting, storage, sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, animal husbandry, agro-processing capacity, forestry, and fisheries to create a favourable environment for African countries to realize long-term food security supported by national agricultural production and processing.

3.1.9 The two sides will encourage the trade of agricultural products, improve trade policies, assess methods to promote agricultural trade, and continuously scale up the trade of agricultural products between China and Africa.

3.1.10 The Chinese side will continue to strengthen agricultural cooperation with Africa under the framework of the UNFAO "Special Programme for Food Security", and explore prospects of working with other institutions and countries to realise further agricultural cooperation with Africa.

3.1.11 The African side pledges to cooperate with the Chinese side in key fields such as exchanges on agricultural policies, agricultural infrastructure improvement, development of systems of agricultural support services, modern agricultural development capacity building, and investment in the complete value chain of agriculture to improve Africa's agricultural production and strengthen its capability to ensure food security. It will create an enabling environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and trade in agriculture in Africa, and offer support that includes preferential policies in agriculture, land, agricultural infrastructure, fiscal financing and insurance service, in accordance with local laws.

3.2 Industry Partnering and Industrial Capacity Cooperation

3.2.1 The two sides believe that industrialization is an imperative to ensure Africa's independent and sustainable development. There are mutual needs for industry partnering and industrial capacity cooperation between China and Africa. Both sides enjoy respective advantages and will bring opportunities to each other. The two sides are ready to combine China's competitive industries and high-quality industrial capacity with Africa's industrialization and economy diversification to promote bilateral cooperation aimed at comprehensive transformation and upgrading.

3.2.2 The two sides commit to following a balanced approach to interests and principles, win-win cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, market-based cooperation, and will actively carry out industry partnering and industrial capacity cooperation, while never pursuing development at the cost of the long-term interests and environments of their host countries.

3.2.3 The two sides will make full use of the existing multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms, enhance planning, policy coordination and industry partnering, and promote the mutually beneficial development of industrial capacity.

3.2.4 The Chinese side is willing to give priority to Africa in industrial partnering and industrial capacity cooperation. The African side welcomes the transfer of labour-intensive competitive industrial capacities of China to Africa in an orderly way, assisting Africa to increase employment, taxation and foreign exchange, and achieving technology transfer and common development. The two sides agree to select several African countries to set up pilot and demonstration programmes, jointly establish or upgrade a number of industrial parks and support the development of infrastructure and public services facilities to accumulate experience, explore effective methods and offer a cooperation model for driving forward China-Africa industrial partnering and industrial capacity cooperation in a comprehensive and orderly fashion.

3.2.5 The Chinese side will set up a China-Africa production capacity cooperation fund, with an initial pledge of US$10 billion, to support China-Africa industry partnering and industrial capacity cooperation.

3.2.6 The Chinese side will send senior government experts and consultants to Africa countries to offer advice and assistance on industrialization layout, policy planning, operation and management.

3.2.7 African countries will continue to improve laws, regulations and infrastructure, introduce preferential policies and improve government services wherever possible, so as to create enabling conditions and an environment to attract investment by Chinese companies and support industries and industrial capacity from China, where mutually beneficial.

3.3 Infrastructure Development

3.3.1 The two sides agree that underdeveloped infrastructure is one of the bottlenecks hindering independent and sustainable development of Africa. The two sides will take concrete measures and give priority to encourage Chinese businesses and financial institutions to expand investment through various means, such as Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), to support African countries and the African flagship projects, in particular the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa and the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative, in their efforts to build railroad, highway, regional aviation, ports, electricity, water supply, information and communication and other infrastructure projects, support African countries in establishing 5 transportation universities and facilitate infrastructure connectivity and economic integration in Africa.

3.3.2 According to the plan of building transnational and trans-regional infrastructure in Africa, the two sides will explore and cooperate on the planning and construction of projects to achieve sub-regional connectivity and integration. The two sides will combine the national development demands and the projects' economic benefits, and drive Africa's infrastructure construction in a balanced and orderly way.

3.3.3 The two sides will enhance planning and coordination on the construction and renovation of highway networks in Africa, in particular promoting construction of transnational highway networks in Africa.

3.3.4 The two sides will jointly formulate the China-Africa Railway Cooperation Action Plan (2016-2020), promoting the construction of railway networks in Africa.

3.3.5 The two sides will implement the China-Africa regional aviation cooperation programme, actively supporting the establishment of transnational regional aviation networks linking African countries, and enhancing coordination and cooperation in standards, planning consultation, special training, improving aviation infrastructure, operating joint venture airlines, and offering regional civil airlines, taking into consideration local employment, sourcing, human capacity building and the transfer of technology.

3.3.6 The two sides will support each other on aviation market access, encourage and support more flights and shipping links between China and Africa by their airlines and shipping companies. The two sides encourage and support investment by competitive Chinese enterprises in ports, airports, and airline companies in Africa.

3.3.7 The Chinese side will explore the possibility of establishing a China-Africa civil aviation school in Africa, build infrastructure for aviation ground services, and enhance training of African civil aviation professionals, including technology transfer.

3.3.8 The two sides encourage and support the participation of Chinese businesses in investment, construction and operation of power projects in Africa through multiple means, including expanded cooperation in water resources, coal-fired power, solar energy, nuclear energy, wind power, biomass power generation, power transmission and transformation, and grid construction and maintenance.

3.3.9 The two sides will enhance exchanges and cooperation between departments in charge of information, communications, radio and television, and will increase personnel training in the information field, share experiences of development in information and communication, and work together to safeguard information security.

3.3.10 The two sides encourage Chinese enterprises to assist African countries' efforts to put in place digital radio and TV broadcasting systems, to promote digitalization of radio and TV services, and to benefit more people in the rural areas in Africa.

3.3.11 The two sides encourage and support the participation of competitive Chinese enterprises of information, communication, radio and TV in building information infrastructure in Africa, such as cable networks and interconnection networks, and their involvement in mutually beneficial construction, operation and offering of services with African businesses in order to assist Africa to build information networks covering the whole continent.

3.3.12 The two sides will actively explore and push forward cooperation in information and communication technology, help African countries to build "Smart Cities", and enhance the roles of information and communication technology in safeguarding social security, and fighting against terrorism and crime.

3.3.13 The two sides will cooperate with international organizations such as International Telecommunication Union, narrow the digital divide in Africa, and promote the building of an information society in Africa.

3.4 Energy and Natural Resources

3.4.1 In view of the strong complementarity and cooperation potential between China and Africa in energy and natural resources, the two sides will encourage cooperation in the exploitation of resources, and support joint development and proper use of the energy and natural resources of the two sides, including beneficiation at the source.

3.4.2 The two sides will enhance African countries' capacity for intensive processing of energy and natural resource products during their cooperation, ensuring increased local employment and value addition of primary products, while protecting the local eco-environment.

3.4.3 The two sides will encourage energy and resources cooperation, support Chinese and African enterprises and financial institutions to conduct mutually beneficial cooperation, in particular encouraging these enterprises to assist the African side with beneficiation technologies through technology transfer and capacity building, thus helping African countries to translate their energy and natural resources potential into real socio-economic development.

3.4.4 The two sides agree to establish a training programme for the capacitation of African energy practitioners through research and development exchanges.

3.4.5 The two sides will encourage the establishment of a forum on energy and natural resources under the framework of FOCAC.

3.5 Ocean Economy

3.5.1 The African side welcomes the Chinese side's championing "the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road", which includes the African continent, and the two sides will promote mutually beneficial cooperation in the blue economy.

3.5.2 The two sides will enhance experience sharing in offshore aquaculture, marine transportation, shipbuilding, construction of ports and port industrial parks, the surveying and exploitation of offshore oil and gas resources, marine environment management, marine disaster prevention and reduction, marine scientific research, blue economy development, and support mutually beneficial cooperation between Chinese and African enterprises, in order to assist Africa to cultivate new economic growth drivers.

3.5.3 The Chinese side will enhance marine exchanges and technology cooperation with African countries, launch capacity building, and actively explore the possibility of jointly building marine observation stations, laboratories, and cooperation centres.

3.5.4 The two sides will encourage the establishment of a Ministerial Forum on marine economy under the framework of FOCAC.

3.6 Tourism

3.6.1 The two sides will expand cooperation in tourism to encourage opening more direct air routes and tourism investment, increase tourism safety and quality, expand personnel exchanges aimed at skills training, and cultivate new economic growth drivers for Africa.

3.6.2 The two sides will continue to facilitate travels by their nationals between China and Africa and support tourism promotion activities in each other's countries and regions.

3.6.3 The Chinese side welcomes more eligible African countries to apply for the Approved Destination Status for Chinese tourists.

3.6.4 The two sides encourage and support the establishment of tourist offices in China and Africa, encourage and support investment by Chinese enterprises in tourism infrastructure in Africa, such as hotels and construction of tourist attractions.

3.7 Investment and Economic Cooperation

3.7.1 The Chinese side will scale up its investment in Africa, and plan to increase China's stock of direct investment in Africa to US$100 billion in 2020 from US$32.4 billion in 2014.

3.7.2 The two sides will continue to encourage and support mutual investment, urge for negotiations and implementation of measures on the Promotion and Protection of Investment, ensure a conducive environment for mutual investment, promote investment cooperation, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of investors.

3.7.3 The two sides will actively carry out tax cooperation, negotiate and implement agreements on the avoidance of double taxation, and agree to resolve cross-border tax disputes to promote a favourable tax environment for China-Africa investment, economic exchanges and trade. The Chinese side will actively advocate signing the memorandum of bilateral tax cooperation with African national tax authorities, and support African countries to improve tax collection and administration capacities through technology assistance and transfer, and human capacity development.

3.7.4 The Chinese side will continue to support the development and operation of overseas business cooperation zones, special economic zones and industrial parks by competitive Chinese enterprises, while respecting the host countries' market rules and industrialization processes. The two sides will continue to give support and offer necessary facilitation and services to those overseas business cooperation zones that are already built or operated, taking into consideration local procurement and employment, as well as technology transfer in the countries in which they invest.

3.7.5 The two sides agree to ensure a conducive environment for increased mutual investment and to foster enterprise cooperation. The Chinese side will support the African side in its efforts to build industrial park zones and special economic zones, help African countries to attract investment, encourage and support the involvement of Chinese enterprises in the planning, designing, construction, operation and management of such zones. Local procurement and employment as well as technology transfer in the countries of investment will be taken into consideration.

3.7.6 The two sides will encourage industrial partnering and industrial capacity building to assist Africa to industrialize. The two sides will also encourage and support China's labour-intensive industries to move to Africa, cooperate on import-substitution and export-orientation, increase local employment, technology transfer, human capacity development and enhance export earning capacity.

3.7.7 The two sides will cooperate with international financial institutions and support the holding of Investing in Africa Forum and the establishment of Investing in Africa Think Tank Union, to share China's development experience, promote investment cooperation in Africa, and realize common development.

3.8 Trade

3.8.1 The two sides will scale up trade and try to elevate the China-Africa trade volume to US$400 billion in 2020 from US$220 billion in 2014 ensuring that the rate of growth is maintained in overall trade figures and that balance in trade is the desired outcome.

3.8.2 The two sides encourage and support the establishment of logistics centres by Chinese enterprises in Africa, standardize and improve quality of commodities exported from China to Africa, promote China's trade with Africa and encourage Chinese enterprises to engage in processing and manufacturing in Africa, ensuring local employment, technology transfers and human capacity development.

3.8.3 The two sides will enhance cooperation in entry-and-exit inspections and quarantine of animals and plants, and food safety and phytosanitary supervision, and promote the entry of food and agricultural products into each other's markets.

3.8.4 The Chinese side will implement 50 trade-promotion assistant programmes, supports the trade liberalization process in Africa and will continue to help African countries to improve facilities for trade and transport, for the beneficiation of African countries' products at the source, and to promote exports of products from Africa to China.

3.8.5 The Chinese side will continue to help African countries to strengthen capacity building in the trade in services, cultivate more professionals in various sectors of the service outsourcing industry, and expand exchanges, cooperation and training in the service outsourcing industry.

3.8.6 The Chinese side will continue to actively fulfil its pledge of giving zero-tariff treatment to the least developed African countries for most of their commodities exported to China, and gradually give zero-tariff treatment to products under 97% of all tariff items from the Least Developing Countries in Africa having diplomatic relations with China, according to the respective bilateral exchanges of letters.

3.8.7 The Chinese side will establish with African countries cooperation mechanisms on customs, inspection and quarantine standards, as well as the verification, certification and administration of imports and exports, in order to promote bilateral trade facilitation, and enhance law-enforcement cooperation to combat smuggling and fraud and to improve the quality of goods exported from China to Africa.

3.8.8 The Chinese side will conduct e-commerce cooperation with Africa, continue to help improve the local management capability and capacity of exporting African countries, develop and construct an internet visa system, introduce electronic certificates of origin, and promote paperless customs clearance of certificates of origin.

3.9 Finance

3.9.1 The Chinese side will offer African countries US$35 billion of loans of concessional nature on more favorable terms and export credit line, create new financing models, optimize favorable credit terms and conditions, expand credit scales, and support China-Africa industrial capacity cooperation, infrastructure building, and development of energy resources, agriculture, and manufacturing in Africa.

3.9.2 The Chinese side will encourage Chinese financial institutions to provide financing and insurance support for China-Africa cooperation in energy, mining, agriculture, processing manufacturing, shipping, metallurgy, construction materials, information and communication technology, electricity, railways, highways, ports and airports.

3.9.3 The Chinese side will enhance cooperation in currency exchanges and financial services, and encourage both Chinese and African enterprises to invest and trade in local currencies. The Chinese side welcomes central banks of African countries to invest in China's inter-bank bond market and include RMB into their foreign exchange reserves.

3.9.4 The Chinese side will encourage and support Chinese and African financial institutions to strengthen cooperation, including opening more branches in respective countries and enhancing exchanges and cooperation ensuring mutual benefit, as well as encouraging and supporting cooperation among financial institutions primarily supporting development to further enhance China-Africa financial cooperation.

3.9.5 The Chinese side will gradually expand the China-Africa Development Fund from US$5 billion to US$10 billion.

3.9.6 The Chinese side will gradually expand the Special Loans to Support Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Africa from US$1 billion to US$6 billion.

3.9.7 The Chinese side will enhance cooperation with the African Development Bank and the sub-regional financial institutions, utilizing optimally the China-Africa Development Fund, Africa Growing Together Fund, and Special Loans to Support Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Africa, also exploring and innovating cooperation mechanisms, supporting the development of infrastructure, agriculture and industrialization processes in Africa.

4. Social Development Cooperation

4.1 Assistance

4.1.1 The African side highly appreciates China's longstanding assistance for social development and humanitarian assistance, without any political conditions, in diverse forms that help Africa to eradicate poverty and improve people's livelihood under the framework of South-South cooperation. The African side applauds the establishment of the Assistance Fund for South-South Cooperation by China to support African countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

4.1.2 The Chinese side will continue to gradually scale up its assistance to African countries within its capacity, giving priority to enhanced cooperation with African countries in areas pertaining to people's livelihoods such as agriculture, health, infrastructure, education and human resources development, wildlife and environmental protection, while increasing the effectiveness of assistance, and supporting economic and social development of African countries.

4.1.3 The Chinese side will exempt the outstanding intergovernmental interest-free loans due by the end of 2015 owed by the least developed countries, land-locked countries and small island developing countries in Africa.

4.2 Medical Care and Public Health

4.2.1 The African side expresses its appreciation for China's continued assistance to countries in need. In particular, the African side expresses its deep appreciation for China's rapid response to the Ebola Virus Disease crisis in West Africa and commends the latter for its selfless service and deployment of its expertise and resources to arrest and reverse the spread of this disease. The African side further appreciates China's continued support to reconstruct public health, economic and societal systems of affected countries during the Post-Ebola period.

4.2.2 The Chinese side will assist Africa to develop public health systems and policies, help African countries to improve the public health, surveillance, epidemiological and prevention systems, strengthen prevention and treatment of malaria and other common infectious and communicable diseases in Africa, enhance the assistance in maternal and child health, reproductive health and other major public health fields in Africa, support cooperation between 20 hospitals of China and Africa from each side on demonstration projects, upgrade hospital departments, and will continue to train doctors, nurses, public health workers and administrative personnel for African countries.

4.2.3 The Chinese side will support the building of an African Union Disease Control Centre and regional medical research centres, reinforce laboratory and diagnostic capacities and encourage the African Union Commission to play a leading role as the custodian of Africa's continental initiatives in the health sector.

4.2.4 The Chinese side will continue to send medical teams to Africa, including short-term medical teams consisted of clinical experts to African countries, and conduct the "Brightness Action" surgeries and other short-term free medical services in Africa, and provide Africa with doses of anti-malaria compound artemisinin.

4.2.5 The Chinese side will support the investment by Chinese medical and health care enterprises in Africa, encourage Chinese medical institutions and enterprises to jointly operate hospitals and produce medicines in Africa, improve health information systems, help Africa to improve the availability of health and diagnostic services and commodities, and improve Africa's capacity for independent and sustainable development in the field of medical care and health, support Africa's continental health initiatives.

4.2.6 The Chinese side will improve health infrastructure in Africa through the construction, renovation and equipping of medical facilities.

4.2.7 The Chinese side will continue to strengthen high-level exchanges in health, build an institutionalized high-level dialogue between China and Africa and agree to incorporate the Ministerial Forum on China-Africa Health Cooperation as an official sub-forum under the framework of FOCAC.

4.3 Education and Human Resources Development

4.3.1 The two sides agree that the shortage of professional and skilled persons is another major bottleneck constraining Africa's independent and sustainable development. Both sides will further strengthen cooperation in education and human resources development.

4.3.2 The Chinese side will offer 2,000 degree education opportunities in China and 30,000 government scholarships to African countries, welcome more African youths to study in China, innovate and expand more ways for training, and train more African professionals on economic development and technical management.

4.3.3 The Chinese side will train for Africa senior professionals on government administration for national development through the South-South Cooperation and Development Institute.

4.3.4 The two sides will continue to implement the 20+20 Cooperation Plan for Chinese and African Institutions of Higher Education, improve the cooperation mechanism between Chinese and African institutions of higher education, encourage Chinese and African universities to carry out cooperation in regional and country studies, and support African universities in establishing China research centres and vice versa.

4.3.5 The Chinese side welcomes the inclusion by African countries of Chinese language teaching as part of their national education systems and will support more African countries in their efforts to establish Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms.

4.3.6 The Chinese side will assist African countries to renovate existing as well as build more vocational and technical training facilities, establish a number of regional vocational education centres and colleges for capacity building in Africa, train 200,000 local African vocational and technical personnel and provide Africa with 40,000 training opportunities in China; help the youth and women improve their employment skills to enhance the self-development ability of Africa.

4.3.7 Having noted the successful UNESCO-China Funds-In-Trust established in UNESCO by the Chinese side, the two sides support the continued implementation of funds-in-trust and its extension by two years (2016-2017).

4.4 Exchanges of Experience on Poverty Eradication Strategies

4.4.1 The two sides will use the "Programme for Strengthening Cooperation on Poverty Reduction between the People's Republic of China and the African Union" jointly published in 2014, as a guide to further strengthen experience sharing in poverty eradication and practical cooperation.

4.4.2 The two-sides agree to continue to jointly organize the China-Africa Poverty Eradication and Development Conference and to endorse it as an official sub-forum under the framework of FOCAC, in order to explore in-depth poverty eradication strategies and policies, and to gradually establish a multi-level inter-governmental and inter-society dialogue mechanism for poverty eradication.

4.4.3 The Chinese side will continue to host the workshop on poverty eradication policies and practice tailored to the needs of African countries, offer educational programmes with degrees on poverty eradication and development for African countries, and help Africa to train specialized personnel in the field of poverty eradication and development.

4.4.4 The Chinese side will, in conjunction with African countries carry out village-community-level small-scale demonstration projects on poverty eradication and cooperate to implement village-community-level comprehensive development projects, help implement Satellite TV projects in 10,000 villages in Africa.

4.4.5 The Chinese side will work with African countries and relevant institutions to launch joint research projects, offer consultancy services on poverty eradication policies for African countries, and send experts and/or volunteers for technical support.

4.4.6 The two sides will mobilize resources including non-governmental organizations to implement in Africa 200 "Happy Life" projects and poverty reduction programmes focusing on women and children.

4.5 Science and Technology Cooperation and Knowledge Sharing

4.5.1 The two sides will continue to promote the implementation of the "China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership Plan", build joint laboratories / joint research centres in the priority fields of common interest, jointly build agriculture science and technology demonstration parks and assist outstanding African youths and technical personnel to participate in exchanges to and training in China.

4.5.2 The two sides attach importance to knowledge sharing and technology transfer, and will carry out exchanges in technological innovation policies and the building of science and technology parks and encourage research institutions and enterprises to have intensive cooperation.

4.5.3 The two sides will actively launch cooperation in the field of space sciences, and the Chinese side will train professional personnel and share development experience with African countries.

4.5.4 The parties will continue to implement joint research and technology demonstration projects. The two sides will also step-up cooperation in research exchanges through their institutions of higher learning.

4.5.5 China will continue its support of the Square Kilometre Array project, which is a flagship science and technology project of the African continent. The two sides will design joint research projects around the SKA and facilitate the participation of their scientists in the project.

4.6 Environmental Protection and Tackling Climate Change

4.6.1 The two sides are satisfied with the progress of cooperation in environmental protection and addressing climate change and will continue to strengthen dialogue on these areas of interest, as well as work closely together on the management of border facilities, search, seizure, and destruction of poached resources, and intelligence gathering to undermine the responsible syndicates, acknowledging their linkages to international organized crime.

4.6.2 To enhance China-Africa environmental cooperation and promote African countries' green development, the Chinese side will introduce the "China-Africa Green Envoys Programme", set up the China-Africa Environment Cooperation Centre, and launch the China-Africa Green Innovation Project under the framework of "China South-South Environmental Cooperation-Green Envoys Programme". China will cooperate with the African side to launch environmental friendly technology cooperation, redouble its efforts to provide training for Africa in the fields of eco-environment protection, environment management and pollution prevention and treatment, push forward dialogue and cooperation on China-Africa green finance, and explore a model of environmental cooperation between Chinese and African governments and non-governmental capital.

4.6.3 The two sides will work together to promote the development of the "China-Africa Joint Research Centre" project and cooperate in biodiversity protection, prevention and treatment of desertification, sustainable forest management and modern agriculture demonstration. The Chinese side will support Africa in implementing 100 clean energy and wild life protection projects, environment friendly agricultural projects and smart city construction projects.

4.6.4 The African side highly appreciates that the Chinese government supports Africa in its efforts to protect wildlife resources. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in the area of wildlife protection, help African countries to improve the protection capabilities, build the capacity of environmental rangers, provide African countries with training opportunities on environmental and ecological conservation, explore the possibility of cooperating on wildlife protection demonstration projects and jointly fight against the illegal trade of fauna and flora products, especially addressing endangered species poaching on the African continent, in particular elephants and rhinos.

4.6.5 The two sides agree to work together to improve management of water resources, and rehabilitate disused mines.

4.6.6 China will advance cooperation with African countries in environmental surveillance, continue to share with African countries the data from the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite and promote the application of the data in land use, weather monitoring and environmental protection in Africa, discuss the establishment of meteorological satellite data receiving and processing application system.

4.6.7 The two sides will strengthen the policy dialogue on climate change, deepen China-Africa cooperation in tackling climate change, in particular climate change monitoring, risk and vulnerabilities reduction, strengthening resilience, promoting adaptation, support for mitigation in terms of capacity building, technology transfer as well as financing for monitoring and implementation and improve the China-Africa consultation and collaboration mechanism on climate change.

4.6.8 The African side welcomes the announcement by the Chinese side that it will make available 20 billion Renminbi Yuan for setting up the China South-South Cooperation Fund to support other developing countries to combat climate change, including to enhance their capacity to access Green Climate Fund funds. The two sides agree to enhance China-Africa South-South cooperation on climate change, in order to strengthen and add greater content to the cooperation with African countries to enhance their capacity to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation actions.

4.6.9 The two sides will set up a multi-level disaster reduction and relief cooperation and dialogue mechanism, expand exchanges in post-disaster response and recovery, risk assessment, disaster preparedness and recovery education programmes.

4.6.10 In times of emergency disaster responses, the Chinese side will provide rapid mapping service for disaster emergencies based on space technology at African countries' request.

5. Cultural Cooperation and People-to-People Exchanges

5.1 Culture

5.1.1 The two sides will promote dialogue between the Chinese and African civilizations and mutual learning between the cultures of the two sides, while respecting the cultural uniqueness of each, work together to uphold the diversity and progress of human civilization and contribute to the development and prosperity of world culture.

5.1.2 The two sides appreciate that events such as the China-Africa Forum on Cultural Heritage Protection and China-Africa Cultural Industry Round-table provide an effective platform for bilateral exchanges in cultural policies, and will continue to hold similar dialogues.

5.1.3 The two sides agree to maintain the momentum of high-level inter-governmental mutual visits and dialogue in the cultural field and will continue to follow through on the implementation plan of the China-Africa bilateral government cultural agreements.

5.1.4 The two sides will continue to build brand activities such as "Happy Spring Festival", "Chinese and African Cultures in Focus", "Experience China" and hold large-scale cultural exchange activities such as "Africa Arts Festival" at an appropriate time.

5.1.5 The two sides appreciate the hosting of a "Country Year" in their respective countries and encourage more eligible African countries to hold "Country Year" activities with China to deepen understanding of and exchanges between each other.

5.1.6 The two sides will continue to implement "the Programme of China-Africa Mutual Visits between Cultural Personnel" and "China-Africa Cultural Partnership Programme" and support the exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and African culture and art managers, artists and cultural institutions.

5.1.7 The two sides will encourage and support the participation by Chinese and African art and culture groups and artists in international culture and art activities.

5.1.8 The two sides will continue to advocate for the establishment of cultural centres in China and Africa. The Chinese side will help build 5 cultural centres for Africa, and to establish more permanent platforms for cultural exchanges and cultural cooperation.

5.1.9 The two sides will strengthen human resources training in the cultural field. The Chinese side will establish ten major "Culture Training Bases for Africa" and execute the "One Thousand People Programme" for culture training in Africa.

5.2 Press and Media

5.2.1 The Chinese side will continue to implement the China-Africa Press Exchange Centre programme, continue to hold training and capacity building seminars for African countries' news officials and reporters, promote more exchanges and mutual visits between Chinese and African journalists and press professionals, train 1,000 African media professionals each year and support exchanges of reporters by more media organizations.

5.2.2 The Chinese side will actively provide technology support and personnel training for the digitalization of radio and TV services and industrial development in Africa. The African side welcomes the involvement of Chinese enterprises in investment and cooperation in building and operating radio and TV transmission broadcasting networks and the marketing of programmes, while ensuring local human capacity building and employment.

5.2.3 The two sides will provide films and TV programmes to each other's respective national broadcasting agencies, explore a long-term cooperative model, continue to participate in film and TV festivals and exhibitions held in their countries, encourage activities of holding film and TV programme exhibitions, and actively launch joint production of documentaries, films and TV programmes. The Chinese side further encourages African countries to produce programmes, conduct exchanges and promote African films and programmes in China.

5.2.4 The Chinese side will continue to take an active part in international book fairs in Africa and carry out cooperation in English book publishing. The Chinese side will encourage Chinese publishing enterprises to donate books on Chinese language learning and other Chinese publications to prestigious African public libraries and the libraries of higher and secondary learning institutes that address fields such as health, agricultural technology, culture and education. The two sides will hold a Forum on China-Africa Publishing Cooperation at an appropriate time.

5.2.5 The Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation serves as an important platform for China-Africa media cooperation and cultural exchanges. The two sides agree to institutionalize the Forum as an official sub-forum of FOCAC.

5.3 Exchanges between Academia and Think Tanks

5.3.1 The two sides note with satisfaction that the "China-Africa Joint Research and Exchange Plan" has been successfully implemented, which has effectively strengthened cooperation and exchanges between scholars and think tanks of the two sides and provides strong academic support to China-Africa cooperation.

5.3.2 The two sides will continue to hold "FOCAC-Think Tank Forum" and support the building of long-term and stable cooperation between the Chinese and African academia. The two sides further encourage the Forum and research institutions to conduct joint research on themes such as China-Africa industry partnering and industrial capacity cooperation and African industrialization and agricultural modernization to provide strong intellectual support and innovation to China-Africa's win-win cooperation and common development.

5.3.3 The two sides will continue to implement the "China-Africa Think Tank 10+10 Partnership Plan" and encourage think tanks from both sides to expand cooperation, and invite 200 African scholars to visit China each year.

5.3.4 The two sides welcome and encourage support by Chinese and African enterprises, financial institutions and academic institutions for academic interactions and people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Africa.

5.4 People-to-People Exchanges

5.4.1 The two sides take note of the successful holding of the 3rd and 4th China-Africa People's Forum, and believe that the institutionalization of the Forum has played an active part in boosting friendship between the Chinese and African peoples.

5.4.2 The two sides appreciate that the "China-Africa People-to-People Friendship Action" and the "China-Africa People-to-People Friendship Partnership Plan" have yielded positive results. The two sides agree to continue small and micro social livelihood projects, promote mutual visits by non-governmental organizations, and encourage and support extensive people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between these organizations.

5.4.3 The two sides appreciate the institutionalization of the China-Africa Young Leaders Forum, which serves as an important platform for China-Africa youth dialogue and cooperation.

5.4.4 The Chinese side will implement the China-Africa youth mutual visits plan, and invite 500 young African to China on study trip each year. The two sides will take turns to host the China-Africa Youth Gala, annually.

5.4.5 The Chinese side will continue to send young volunteers to African countries.

5.4.6 The two sides will continue to strengthen exchanges on gender equality and further deepen practical cooperation on women and gender affairs via dialogues between female leaders, seminars, skills training, human capacity development and cultural exchanges.

5.4.7 The two sides will encourage exchanges between Chinese and African labour unions, non-governmental organizations and social groups, and further advance cooperation through mutual visits, academic events and personnel training.

5.4.8 The two sides will strengthen the cooperation in the field of rehabilitation, education, employment, social security, poverty eradication and development for persons with disabilities, and carry out exchanges in the field of service system and policy of social security.

6. Security Cooperation

6.1 Military, Police and Anti-terrorism

6.1.1 The Chinese side continues to support the African Union, its Regional Economic Communities and other African sub-regional institutions that play a leading role in coordinating and solving issues of peace and security in Africa and further continues to support and advocate for African solutions to African challenges without interference from outside the continent.

6.1.2 The Chinese side will provide the AU with US$60 million of free military assistance over the next three years, support the operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture, including the operationalization of the African Capacity for the Immediate Response to Crisis and the African Standby Force.

6.1.3 The two sides will maintain the momentum of mutual visits by defence and military leaders, continue to deepen exchanges on technologies and expand personnel training and joint trainings and exercises.

6.1.4 The two sides will strengthen information and intelligence exchanges and experience sharing on security, and will share this information timeously to support mutual efforts in the prevention and fight against terrorism, in particular its symptoms and underlying causes.

6.1.5 The two sides will enhance cooperation in preventing and combatting the illegal trafficking of humans, fauna and flora products, marine products, narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals.

6.1.6 The two sides will continue to support the United Nations (UN) in its efforts to play a constructive role in helping resolve regional conflicts in Africa and will intensify communication and coordination with the UN Security Council. The Chinese side will continue to take an active part in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, offer the African side support on peacekeeping training and intensify communication and coordination with Africa in the UN Security Council, in adherence to UN Security Council Resolution 2033 that recognizes the importance of an enhanced relationship between the United Nations and the African Union, as well as a strengthened capacity of regional and sub-regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in conflict prevention and crisis management, and in post-conflict stabilization.

6.1.7 The African side appreciates the efforts of the Chinese government's Special Representative for African Affairs to actively engage in mediation efforts in Africa, and welcomes his continued constructive role in Africa's peace and security endeavours.

6.1.8 The African side appreciates China's counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea and in waters off the coast of Somalia in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. The two sides will strengthen cooperation on safeguarding the security of shipping routes in the waters concerned and peace and stability in the region. In this regard, the two sides agree that emphasis should also be placed by the international community on addressing the root causes of piracy, namely poverty, underdevelopment and illegal fishing.

6.2 Consular, Immigration, Judiciary and Law Enforcement

6.2.1 The two sides will strengthen consular cooperation and actively carry out consultations on consular matters.

6.2.2 The two sides will strengthen cooperation between immigration departments and jointly fight against illegal immigration and to protect environmental resources from illegal exploitation. The Chinese side will support African countries in enhancing anti-riot capacity.

6.2.3 The two sides will explore the signing of Criminal Judicial Assistance and Extradition Treaties and strengthen cooperation in the fields of combatting and preventing transnational crimes, human trafficking, corruption and the illegal trade in fauna, flora and associated products, while strengthening narcotics control, fugitive extradition, repatriation of illicit funds and asset recovery, cyber security, and law enforcement capacity building.

6.2.4 The two sides will promote exchanges and cooperation in the judicial, law enforcement and legislative fields, including preventing and fighting transnational organized crimes in accordance with bilateral treaties and multilateral conventions.

6.2.5 The two sides will improve exchanges and cooperation on the judiciary, obtain in-depth understanding of respective legal systems, and promote mutual recognition and application of laws and regulations, so as to provide legal support and a law-based environment for personnel exchanges and the protection of legitimate rights and interests.

6.2.6 The two sides will improve the institutionalization of the "FOCAC-Legal Forum", continue exchanges and training of legal professionals, work together to establish a "China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre", develop the Professionals Legal Training Base and China-Africa Legal Research Sub-Centre in Africa, and facilitate lectures by law experts from China and Africa. The two sides will actively support the implementation of "China-AALCO Research and Exchange Programme on International Law".

7. International Cooperation

At present, international relations and the global landscape are undergoing and will continue to undergo profound and complex changes, including in terms of globalization and the spread of information. It serves the common interests of China and Africa to strengthen international coordination and to establish a new model of global development that is based on equality, accountability, mutual respect and that is more balanced, stable, inclusive and harmonious.

The two sides are committed to supporting each other in international fora and further strengthen cooperation in areas of trade, finance, environmental protection, peace and security, cultural exchanges, economic and social development and the advancement of human rights, while maintaining the sovereignty to choose their developmental paths.

8. FOCAC

8.1 The two sides are satisfied that, since the 5th FOCAC Ministerial Conference, the political consultation between Chinese and African Foreign Ministers on the side-lines of the UNGA, the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM), and consultations between the Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee and African diplomatic missions in China have continued to operate in an efficient and smooth manner.

8.2 The two sides agree that the Co-chairs, in cooperation with the Chinese FOCAC Follow-up Mechanism and the Group of African Ambassadors in Beijing, should conduct a review of FOCAC and develop recommendations to further strengthen FOCAC, drawing on the experience of the last 15 years, including relating to the optimal follow-up mechanism, the functioning of the various agreed FOCAC Sub-Forums including the establishment of certain new sub-forums, and the promotion of the institutionalization of existing sub-forums.

8.3 Following the FOCAC follow-up mechanism procedures, the two sides decided to hold the 7th Ministerial Conference in Beijing in 2018 and, before that, the 12th and 13th SOMs in Beijing in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The 4th political consultations between Chinese and African Foreign Ministers on the side-lines of the UNGA will be held in New York in September 2016.