At the opening of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined a three-year action plan to strengthen ties between China and Africa. The plan focuses on various areas of modernization, including trade, industrial cooperation, connectivity, healthcare, rural revitalization, and security.
Beijing pledged $50.7 billion to support the implementation of 10 partnership initiatives during this period. Xi highlighted that China’s relations with Africa are at their “best in history” and proposed elevating ties with African nations to the “strategic level.”
He emphasized the need for joint efforts towards fair, equitable modernization that benefits all, stating, “Without the modernization of China and Africa, there will be no global modernization.”
The summit comes as China seeks to expand its influence in Africa amid growing tensions with the U.S. and other Western nations.