Forging Ahead

　　Relations between China and Africa have enjoyed a continuous and steady development in 2013.The new Chinese leadership continues to attach great importanceto China-Africa relations and strives to strengthenSouth-South Cooperation. Political trust between thetwo sides has deepened steadily with cooperation in theeconomy， trade and other fields ascending to new levelsand health cooperation， cultural and people-to-peopleexchanges increasing in scope and depth.

　　Frequent high-level visits

　　Today in the political arena， the frequent high-level visitson both sides are strongly boosting political trust and drivingthe establishment of the new type of China-Africa strategicpartnership. The bilateral ties need to get strengthenedthrough high level exchange visits and consultingin the shortest possible time， especially after leadershipchange， so as to confirm the continuity of foreign policy.

　　It is critical to build a stronger relationship with theAfrican Union (AU)， the most representative and mostimportant inter-governmental organization in Africa， becauseChina develops its relations with Africa’s 54 countries.China and the AU held their fifth strategic dialogue inFebruary 2013. Then Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechiand AU Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zumaco-chaired the dialogue. This was her first trip to the countrysince she took office in October 2012. As the integrationprocess of Africa moves forward， China will continue todeepen its ties with the AU.

　　Last spring， Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a visit toAfrica， clearly indicating that the new leadership attachesgreat importance to China-Africa relations， as well as tocooperation among emerging economies such as BRICS. Inhis speech at the Julius Nyerere International ConventionCenter in Dar es Salaam， Xi said that Africa is in anew era of hope and development. He vowed thatChina will intensify， rather than weaken， its efforts todevelop relations with Africa.

　　His remarks delivered clear messages. First，although Africa has gone through complicated andprofound changes， as well as the tests of a civilwar in Cote d’Ivoire， South Sudan’s independence，a war in Libya， the North African turmoil，and civil wars in Mali and the Central AfricanRepublic， China remains confident of Africa’sdevelopment. Second， based on optimism andconfidence in the African situation and its futuredevelopment， China will continue strengtheningand advancing its relationshipwith Africa. Third， China’s policytoward Africa will stay on thetrack of sincerity， friendship， andcooperation with less emptytalk and more practical work.During Xi’s visit to Tanzania， thetwo sides signed MOUs relatingto infrastructure projects，including the construction of amodern port at Bagamoyo withan investment budget of $10billion. The project will be rathercomprehensive， with a distributioncenter， a development areaand other facilities. After completion， it will be an importantport and trade hub linking Tanzania with China， the MiddleEast and Europe.

　　Cultural exchanges and health cooperation

　　China-Africa cultural exchanges were the biggest highlightof relations between China and Africa in 2013. At the 2006Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC)， China and Africa decided to establish a newtype of strategic partnership featuring cultural exchanges，political equality and mutual trust， and win-win economiccooperation， thus turning a new page in China-Africafriendly cooperation. Since then， it has been not only theintention of the governments to expand and strengthenChina-African cultural exchange activities， but also the missionof cultural workers of both sides.

　　To explore the culture treasures both in China and Africa，bilateral cultural cooperation should not simply stayat the government level. It needs to spread to theindustry level through the introduction of marketand social force.

　　As a key project of “Chinese Culture in Focus”events， the First Roundtable Meeting on Chineseand African Cultural Industries， organized by theMinistry of Culture， was held in Beijing andShenzhen from June 18 to 23， 2013， withdelegates from China and senior cultural officialsand experts from 26 African countries ina discussion of how best to promote bilateralcultural exchanges in terms of cultural industrypolicies， development status， successful experience，demands and cooperation vision.

　　African and Chinese Cultures in Focus events havebeen held since 2008. The events happen in alternateyears and now are becoming a significant brand andplatform for cultural exchange between China andAfrica. The China-Africa Cultural Cooperation PartnershipProgram， launched in 2013， aims to promote the buildingof long-term paired cooperation between 100 Chinesecultural institutions and 100 African cultural institutionsin three years. China has also provided cultural materialsassistance worth about 7.2 million yuan ($1.18 million) to36 African countries. These cultural exchanges and cooperationplay an increasingly important role in deepeningSino-African relations and promoting mutual understandingand trust.

　　The year 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of thearrival of the first Chinese medical aid team in Africa in1963. For the past five decades， it has greatly helpedAfrica enhance its own capacity for medical care andpublic health.

　　In order to promote China-Africa health cooperationin the new era， dozens of African health ministers andChinese health officials gathered at the Ministerial Forumon China-Africa Health Development to map out newefforts to support Africa’s long-term health progress andshape the future of China-Africa health cooperation inAugust 2013. At the forum， under the theme of Prioritiesof China-Africa Health Cooperation in the New Era， healthministers and officials launched the Beijing Declaration，calling for the prominent positioning of health and healthrelatedissues in the post-2015 sustainable developmentagenda， and the development of human resources for thehealth sector in Africa. Representatives from 48 Africancountries and international organizations， such as WorldHealth Organization and UNAIDS， were all at the meeting.

　　Public diplomacy and people-topeople friendship

　　The Chinese Government announced priority areas ofChina-Africa cooperation for the next three years at theFifth FOCAC Ministerial Conference held in July 2012. Thenext cooperation period will focus on public diplomacy andenhancing people-to-people friendships.

　　In the political arena， Chinese leaders have found thatnon-official diplomatic maneuvers can help people betterunderstand China. When delivering a speech in Tanzania，Chinese President Xi described China-Africa relations inthe new era through stressing the importance of “sincerity，real results， affinity and good faith.” Xi also used a Swahiligreeting， mentioned A Beautiful Daughter-In-Law Era， aTV series that has been dubbed and gained popularity inAfrican countries， and a story of a young Chinese couplewho has fallen in love with Africa after their honeymoon inTanzania. Plain language in his speech shortened distancewith local people， and Xi’s 30-minute speech drew dozensof bursts of warm applause. Peng Liyuan， President Xi’s wife，has received increasing attention for not only her attire， butalso her good-will activities during the visits abroad， a softtoneddiplomatic gesture to boost China’s image. First-ladydiplomacy is now a vital component of public diplomacy.Peng’s role is special and she can deliver a big push to thecountry’s soft power.

　　With China-Africa cooperation expanding in a morecomprehensive way， Sino-African think tank exchanges andcooperation has continued to be strengthened in recentyears. Since the China-Africa Joint Research and ExchangeProgram was launched in March 2010， the first and secondChina-Africa Think Tanks Forum (CATTF) have been held inHangzhou and Addis Ababa respectively. The third meetingof CATTF and the launching ceremony of the China-AfricaThink Tanks 10+10 Partnership Plan was held in Beijing fromOctober 21 to 22， 2013. The frequent and multi-level exchangesand cooperation on large scale among Sino-Africanscholars and think tanks could effectively enhance in-depthunderstanding of each other， promote people-to-peopleexchanges， and provide intellectual support for the developmentof China and African countries.

　　As China continues to increase assistance to Africa andbring the benefits of development to the African people，some capable NGOs with a talent pool in China will graduallyparticipate in the China-Africa cooperation projects.

　　Strengthening people-to-people friendships will enhancepeople-to-people exchanges and understanding betweenboth sides. In addition， with the improvement of Africanpeople’s living standards， more and more people will benefitfrom the China-Africa cooperation achievements， which laya solid foundation of public support for enhancing China-Africa common development. In this way， China’s publicdiplomacy and people-to-people communication with Africawould bear new fruit.