As 2025 draws to a close, the partnership between China and Africa is reaching new heights, marked by historic milestones and a forward-looking spirit. 🌍🤝
Deepening and Diversifying🌐
Director Liu Baocheng of the Center for International Business Ethics calls 2025 a year of deepening, diversification, and strategic balance. Cooperation has shifted from project-based ties to institutionalized dialogue in policy, capacity building, green growth, and digital ecosystems.
Zero-Tariff Policy: A Game Changer🚀
This year, China extended zero-tariff treatment to all 53 African countries, opening its market to a wider range of African goods beyond oil and minerals. Charles Onunaiju from Nigeria's Center for China Studies says this move will reshape African economies, boost exports, and strengthen the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
FOCAC at 25: From Dialogue to Delivery🎉
The 25th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) cements a structured, trust-based partnership. FOCAC now tracks outcomes, evaluates progress, and tackles challenges together, with capacity building at its core.
Digital Leapfrogging📱
Chinese tech firms have rolled out 5G networks, fiber-optic backbones, data centers, and smart city platforms across Africa. Liu emphasizes that digital technology should be judged by the benefits it brings to people, enabling leapfrogging and inclusive growth.
Green Cooperation🌿
In Nigeria, eco-friendly practices guide major projects like the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja, new water systems, roads, and the Lekki Deep Sea Port. Sustainability and long-term community benefits are front and center.
Looking Ahead to 2026🔭
With 2026 declared the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, expect more vocational and digital skills training, joint research, tourism boosts, and cultural links. From Rwandan coffee to Kenyan flowers, African products are gaining spotlight in China, signaling diversification beyond traditional exports.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
