January 5th, 2021

China-Africa Relations: 2020 in retrospect

By : AfriChat

The year 2020 has been most challenging for countries across the globe. This obviously, has been due to the Covid-19 pandemic which adversely impacted the world’s socio-economic life, forcing less-developed nations, especially in Africa, into recession. Amidst the global crisis, some positives, however, marked the China-Africa relationship, especially as it relates to economy and health.

As reported, the Virus broke out in Wuhan, China, but the Asian country’s prompt response brought the situation under control. And so, rather than become overwhelmed, the Chinese government’s first significant response to the impact of the pandemic was to utilize it as an opportunity to strengthen its relations with African countries. While the United States and Europe suffered from a surge in confirmed cases of the Virus as well as the number of deaths, China began a diplomatic and economic drive across the continent by first, offering bilateral assistance to African states in the form of response to the COVID-19 pandemic in late March. Teams of medical personnel from China, who had experience treating cases of COVID-19, were sent to African states. One of the first teams was said to have been sent to Algeria, which was the first African country to experience a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths after the virus arrived in the North African country from France and Italy. It was followed by Nigeria. The news was, however, not well received by the Nigerian medical community, which thought that bringing in Chinese doctors was unnecessary in the fight against the pandemic. In spite of the rancor the issue created, a team of about 15 Chinese doctors arrived in Abuja in early April. A team of 10 Chinese doctors were also sent to Zimbabwe at the end of September.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, a total of 148 Chinese medical workers had been sent to 11 African states since June to respond to the pandemic. What isn’t clear however are, the details of the medical assignment, their job specification and the duration of their stay in each country.

Another means through which China has promised medical assistance to African countries is through the production and eventual distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. According to reports, China currently has vaccines in phase three trials and believes that once any of the vaccines is approved, African states will receive doses of it, describing the gesture as a “global public good.”
The deployment of Chinese doctors to some African countries was followed by the announcement earlier in June 2020, on debt cancellation to relevant African countries worst hit by the pandemic. This was to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on China-Africa trade cooperation.

The debt cancellation, in the form of interest-free government loans that are within the framework of Forum On China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), is due to mature by the end of 2020.
The first time the issue of debt cancellation was brought up by the Chinese government was in mid-April during a G-20 meeting which was in a bid to assuage financial strains on lower-income countries. Forty countries in sub-Saharan Africa were noted to be eligible to receive such debt relief. Again, Chinese President Xi Jinping while addressing the 73rd World Health Assembly in May, pledged $2 billion in economic assistance to developing countries.

During the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19, Xi further promised to revoke all interest-free loans that China has given to African states.

In spite of how turbulent the year 2020 has been, China and Africa found time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), though virtually. Since its establishment in 2000, FOCAC has grown into an important and dynamic platform for China and Africa to carry out collective dialogues.

During the FOCAC anniversary celebration last October in Nigeria, the Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Nigeria, Mr Zhao Yong, while speaking on the topic, ‘Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) at 20 years: Achievements and Prospects’, described the past 20 years as a journey of productive cooperation between China and Africa. He further disclosed that in 2019, direct Chinese investment stock in Africa topped US$49.1 billion, up by nearly 100 times from the year 2000.

Riding on the existing mutual trade relations with China, African traders have long focused on China to source and sell various goods, while many Chinese have also moved to African countries for business. But all that was brought to a halt due to suspension of international flights following lockdown imposed by governments as part of COVID-19 control strategies.

The lockdown however birthed the wildly reported mistreatment of Africans in mainland China. The disaffection was seen as an “inevitable worsening of the socio-economic conditions and immigration situation of Africans in China”.

And most recently, China announced a temporary suspension of entry into their country by non-Chinese national in Nigeria and some other countries, holding valid visas or residence permits. This has been viewed by many as a desperate move to prevent further spread of the virus. The Chinese government, however, promised to assess the measures in accordance with the evolving situation, noting that any adjustment will be made known to the public. But as the world prepares for another wave of the pandemic in 2021, it is not likely that the suspension will be lifted any time soon. By implication, businesses of African traders who depended on travelling to China, will continue to suffer, and this will, in turn, continue to impact negatively on the economies of their respective countries.

Nevertheless, irrespective of how the global community responds to the pandemic, it is more likely to witness a stronger China-Africa relationship as the Asian country does not seem to be ready to let go of the Black Continent.