Civil society takes its seat at the table

NGOs and stakeholders are increasingly involved in steering the direction of China-Africa relationship

In the past three decades, China-Africa economic and trade relations have been the foundation of closer bilateral cooperation and development.

China's development will bring unprecedented opportunities to Africa and vice versa. It is also worth noting that China-Africa civil and cultural exchanges in recent years have also grown rapidly, with richer content and diverse, fruitful outcomes.

After half a century's political exchanges and economic cooperation, governments from both sides fully recognize that civil and cultural exchanges are an effective way to consolidate and expand China-Africa relations in the social and public arena. African civil society is pluralistic in nature, and could contribute to a new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa.

The Chinese government since 2006 has encouraged civil society organizations and stakeholders to carry out exchanges and work together on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. This policy represents not only an open political opportunity, but also gives more Chinese foundations and charities more say over aid to Africa.

Driven by globalization, the Chinese and African governments in 2011 co-founded the China-Africa People's Forum, which serves as a mechanism that supports and effectively strengthens bilateral communication in the public arena, especially regarding people's lives.

In the past five years, the forum has gone ahead with implementing the China-Africa Friendship Partnership Program and a series of activities to promote China-Africa friendship. That has helped promote world peace. China-Africa cooperation has been transformed and upgraded as a result of people's wisdom.

According to the consensus of the forum, the China-Africa civil society organizations and both peoples will from 2016 to 2018 concentrate on industrial production, safety partnership and public health capacity-building, and continue to work together in grassroots-oriented professional skills training, the establishment of cultural institutions, the support of education, healthcare, agricultural technologies and livelihood projects for reducing poverty.

During this period, China will invite 500 African civil society representatives from various circles to be trained in China, and continuously enrich training content.

Civil society organizations in China will finance the training and dispatch experts to African countries to set up training centers and scholarships to help African countries train personnel in technology, engineering, health and agriculture.

Also, the China NGO Network for International Exchanges and the African Union's Economic, Social and Cultural Council jointly set up a standing committee forum that is responsible for maintaining regular contact with civil circles in China and African countries.

It was decided that in the China-Africa People's Forum will be held in line with the China-Africa Cooperation Forum Ministerial Conference every three years, alternately in China and Africa.

It will involve more participating countries, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, China-Africa Chamber of Commerce and the African countries' major trade union organizations will be important forum participants.

China and Africa's strengthened civil power can help speak with a common voice that guides international relations in a more stable, balanced and democratic direction.

The major global development issues such as UN reform, climate change, food security, poverty reduction, development and gender equality need both sides for mutual support, so that the developing countries can have more say over international economic, financial and trade rules.

Liu Xingtang is a member of the Chinese

Private Association for African Investment.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/05/2015 page9)