Homepage > World Year-end: The Situation in Africa and Sino-African Cooperation in 2014 Editor: Zhang Dan 丨CCTV.com
12-30-2014 17:41 BJT By Li Anshan, director of the Center for African Studies of Peking University Since the beginning of 2014, the political and economic situation in Africa has been relatively calm. Several countries have successfully completed presidential and parliamentary elections; the continent as a whole has maintained steady economic development; African integration is under continuous advancement; and Africa has become increasingly attractive to foreign investments with foreign enterprises and some large transnational companies continuing to invest in the continent. In 2014, elections in several African countries went smoothly. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has served as Algeria’s president since 1999, won this year's election with 81.53% of the votes. South Africa also witnessed an important election. The African National Congress (ANC), which had been in power for 20 years, faced considerable challenges following the death of Nelson Mandela: an economic downturn; the bankruptcy of many companies which hurt the national economy of South Africa. And finally, the alliance of the ANC, the South African Communist Party (SACP), and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) won the election. Egypt, Botswana, Malawi, and Tunis also held successful elections. The African continent has maintained steady economic development. Since the mid 1990s, the African economy has maintained a relatively fast growth rate of over 5%. It still has maintained this growth rate at 5% this year. The success of Africa’s economic growth in 2014 is attributed to several factors including infrastructure construction, productivity improvement of resource industry and electric power industry, and continuous growth in the service industry and agriculture. African integration is still being advanced. According to the annual report released by the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) in 2014, the ECOWAS is the most dynamic area in Africa in terms of economic development and its economic growth rate is expected to increase to 6.3%, compared with the rate of 4.8% in 2013. The East African Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and Southern African Development Community have reached an agreement on the free trade zone which is expected to be launched in the near future. Of course, there are many obstacles to sustainable development in Africa. Some countries were faced with unstable political situations largely due to military coups and terrorist activities. In some countries, military uprisings not only disrupted the national political order, but also provoked regional instability. Undoubtedly, the spread of Ebola has severely affected Western Africa, especially Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The oil price slump has dealt a heavy blow to those countries relying on oil exports to earn money, such as Nigeria and Angola. Africa’s development has been further hindered by other factors, such as inequality within the international political and economic order, problems with governance, barriers among regions and countries (border issues, population mobility, infrastructure and so on), insufficient foreign investment, and various diseases. Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Africa has aroused active responses from the international community. He raised a framework to promote Sino-African cooperation referred to as "4-6-1". "4" refers to four principles: treating each other equally and sincerely, strengthening unity and mutual trust, seeking common and inclusive development, and promoting innovative and practical cooperation. "6" represents six areas of cooperation: industrial cooperation, financial cooperation, poverty-reduction cooperation, ecological and environmental cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and cooperation for peace and security. "1" refers to one platform: the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Through this platform, China and Africa will work to upgrade Sino-African cooperation while meeting the new demands of Africa, so as to elevate the strategic partnership between the two sides to a new level. Most importantly, China proposed its concept on the international strategic level, highlighting multi-polarization in global governance. Li elaborated on the importance of Africa with regard to its political, economic, social, and cultural value, pointing out that Africa occupies an important niche in the global economic and political landscape, and that the continent is a pillar of world politics, global economic growth and human civilization. Sino-African relations have gone through three stages: assistance, contracting, and trade. They are now about to enter the stage of vigorous investment. Chinese enterprises should manage, evaluate, and supervise investment projects accordingly in order to promote further investment in Africa and to reduce risks. Meanwhile, they should carry out comprehensive investigations and surveys during the early stages of certain projects, as well as adapt to the local situation and strengthen cooperation with local governments and enterprises through joint venture projects. Of course, governments of African countries should continue to improve the investment environment by reducing political risks, improving laws and regulations involving foreign enterprises, providing more preferential measures for foreign investments, consolidating financing management capability, and placing more emphasis on the technical training of youth. -end- -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. 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