On September fourth, the China-Africa cooperation(FOCAC) summit held its ninth Forum. Africa and China have a complex relationship and in this summit they deepened their ties, made plans and more. They have a mutually benefited relationship where Africa gets help with debt relief, financing, and infrastructure development, while China gets to spread its influence across the globe and increase economically. The FOCAC was established in 2000 to formalize the ties between China and Africa. This years summit consist of 53 African states, so it is a really big thing, even the African Union showed its support. In hopes to strengthen China-Africa ties, China pledged $51 billion in funding this day to have 30 infrastructure projects all around Africa. Alongside this, Africa plays a huge role in China’s Belt and Initiative (BRI), having many major projects in Africa. Their plan is for the next three years, focusing on many areas to sustain the high China-Africa relationship, which won’t come without challenges, concerns, and debates. Because of this and the Octopus analogy, there could be a turning point in the China-Africa relationship as they try to balance their relationships benefits.
The relationship between China and Africa has been going strong with many projects and developments being made over the years. I think their relationship seems good, but after this summit, it seems they may be having some disagreements. Foreign affairs can become complicated because states tend to be greedy and want more of the benefit that they are giving. This seems to be happening, and they had to bring up that the benefits have to be mutual. Maybe their conflicts will resolve because China’s relationship with Africa is crucial to the well being of Africa and its states.
China is an example of another global actor that affects many countries around the globe. By making this particular relationship, they are trying to expand on this and have more power. They also gain relationships and resources from Africa. China has many foreign affairs and is helping Africa defeat their challenges of poverty, economics, and more.