Chinese and African leaders hold a summit on deepening cooperation in a divided world

A Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard outside the Great Hall of the People during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. | Photo credit: AP

dozens of African leaders arrive in Beijing for summit It is a sign of China’s influence on the continent, which it hopes will be a key ally in pushing back against the US-led global order.

Chinese President Xi Jinping A proposal was put before the leaders gathered on Thursday (September 5) that ties with all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China should be elevated to a “strategic” level.

“We have always understood and supported each other, and set an example for a new type of international relations,” he said at the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

China has become a major player in Africa since the forum was founded in 2000. Its companies have invested heavily in mining for the needs of Chinese industry. Its development banks have lent money to build railways, roads and other infrastructure under Mr. Xi’s Belt and Road program.

China has become sub-Saharan Africa’s largest bilateral trading partner, but it exports far more to the continent than it imports. To reduce their trade deficit, African leaders are seeking China’s help to increase their agricultural exports and industrialize their economies.

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Mr. Xi said China was ready to boost cooperation in industry, agriculture, infrastructure and other sectors and to further open up its markets — in part by eliminating tariffs on products from most of the world’s poorest nations, including 33 countries in Africa.

The relationship has gone beyond trade and investment and has taken on political overtones, as China seeks allies in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world to compete with the United States to define the norms that govern the global economy and how countries interact with one another.