The Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), scheduled for Nov. 29-30 in Senegal’s capital of Dakar, will open up new prospects for Africa-China cooperation.
According to Senegal’s foreign minister, Aïssata Tall Sall, and the Chinese ambassador to Dakar, Xiao Han, the theme of the conference will be “Deepening China-Africa Partnership and Promoting Sustainable Development to Building a China-Africa Community with a Shared Future in the New Era.”
Earlier, it was announced that the forum would adopt four resolutions: The Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024); the 2035 Vision for China-Africa Cooperation; the Sino-African Declaration on Climate Change; and the Declaration of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC.
FOCAC is a triennial high-level forum between China and all of the states of Africa, with the exception of Eswatini, which continues to recognise Taiwan.
Modelled on Japan’s Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), it provides an organising mechanism for Chinese foreign policy toward Africa.
FOCAC has frequently played host to eye-catching Chinese policy announcements and financial commitments. The forum is alternately hosted in Beijing and major African capitals.
Three of the seven editions held so far have included summits attended by the incumbent Chinese president and many of his counterparts across the continent. Twice as many African leaders chose to attend the 2018 edition in Beijing than the UN General Assembly two weeks later.