FOCAC 2024: Key concerns and priorities for Africa for sustainable development

Date of issue: 6 September 2024

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is being held from September 4 to 6 in Beijing, China, under the theme “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.”  This theme is particularly relevant as the world shifts towards modern, clean energy sources in alignment with the Paris Agreement’s goals for a Net Zero economy. This global transition has fuelled an increased demand for products critical to modernization, such as lithium-ion batteries, wind turbines, solar photovoltaics (PVs), electric vehicles, and large-scale infrastructure—areas where China has emerged as a global leader.

Meanwhile, Africa is home to many of the critical resources necessary for this transition, positioning the continent at the centre of the global energy shift. The theme of this year’s FOCAC is especially timely, as Africa faces growing calls to leverage its critical minerals to industrialize and modernize, as outlined in the Draft Africa Green Minerals Strategy and the Africa Mining Vision. The summit also takes place against the backdrop of intensifying geopolitical competition between China, the European Union, and the United States over control of critical mineral supply chains. Over the past year, the U.S., EU, and Canada have taken significant steps to reduce their dependency on China for critical minerals, which are vital for clean energy technologies. FOCAC, as a diplomatic platform for China-Africa cooperation, is positioned to address these geopolitical dynamics and explore how Africa can capitalize on its resources to drive modernization. The theme, “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future,” reflects the importance of collaboration in navigating these global challenges and ensuring that Africa plays a central role in shaping the future of sustainable development.

Going into FOCAC 2024, Africa countries are said to be prioritising collaborating with China on training and technology transfer, increasing Africa’s value share in production and supply chains, and developing a sustainable and robust agricultural industry.[1] Although the priorities capture the aspirations of Africans, the African continent has not yet developed a comprehensive strategy for collectively engaging with China on key areas of interest to the continent. This results in fragmented approaches driven by national interests. Conversely, China has a strategy on its engagement with Africa and has regularly released strategy documents—such as the white papers of 2006, 2015, and 2021.

Therefore, it pivotal for Africa to have its own strategy for engaging with China. The strategy should be informed various African Union’s policy initiatives. Key among these in the evolving geopolitical context driven by the quest to transition to clean energies is the Africa Green Minerals Strategy anchored on 4 key pillars: being (1) advancing mineral development (2) developing people and technological capability (3) building key value chains and (4) mineral stewardship. The AGM is critically pivoted to address Africa’s perennial challenges is being an exporter of raw materials that are not value added. China stands as a key global player (given its capacity to process and refine critical minerals, innovation for clean energy and research and development) to address this challenge by developing industries for value addition in mineral resource rich countries.

Reflection on the Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024), a product of the Eighth FOCAC summit held in Dakar, Senegal, in November 2021, which  offered a comprehensive plan for trade promotion and facilitation, strategic market access, and product value addition, one key challenge to note is that there is no data readily available to track or monitor progress in implementation of commitments made by China. It is also not clear when the target will be met.[2] Therefore, it is fundamental as Africa goes into FOCAC 24 to reflect on past commitments that were meant to address value addition and promote trade.

Furthermore, with the recent establishment of the UN Secretary General Panel (‘the Panel’) on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, which aims  to build trust between governments, local communities, and industry by addressing issues relating to equity, transparency, investment, sustainability, and human rights,[3] African countries are presented with a unique opportunity to engage with China – the biggest investor in Africa’s critical minerals sector – to address concerns raised by the UN Secretary General. Both China and Africa are members of the Panel, and FOCAC 2024 is an opportune time to ensure that commitments are aligned with the Panel’s objectives while key guidelines are being developed. 

In conclusion it noteworthy that FOCAC 24 has huge opportunities for both China and Africa to reaffirm their commitments to sustainable development and dealing with challenges raised by the UN SG when establishing the Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals. Similarly, it is important for building a mechanism for transparency and accountability or some form of public consultation prior to meetings. This will enable interested stakeholders to monitor and track progress in implementation of commitments