There were publishers from as far afield as China at the Cape Town Book Fair, which ran from June 16 to 19. Photo by TAN TWAN ENG. Do not re-use without credit and payment.
THE African Development Bank has indicated that economic growth in Africa is estimated to slow to 3.8% in 2023 from 4.1% in 2022 due to subdued investment and falling exports.
African economies, however, remain resilient in the face of dampened growth prospects and rising debt levels.
Some African governments will therefore plan to sharpen their focus on macroeconomic stability, domestic revenue mobilisation, debt reduction, enhanced trade and productive investments to reduce increasing economic challenges.
Over the past few years, Africa has increasingly become one of the stages for geo-economic competition among major economic blocs.
Some analysts described this phenomenon as a “new scramble for Africa” in reference to the first “scramble for Africa”, which took place roughly between 1884 and 1914 and resulted in powerful European nations dividing, occupying and colonising the continent.
The reason for this “renewed “interest in Africa can be ascribed to the fact that the continent is on the threshold of significant economic transformation and development.
Africa is about to embark on an exciting process of industrialisation, closing its infrastructure gap and unleashing the potential of its massive agricultural and resource wealth as well as digital industry.
It is no wonder that an increasing number of countries are recognising the continent’s growing economic and demographic weight.
It is forecast that the continent’s population will increase to approximately 2.4 billion by 2050 and that consumer and business spending will rise to roughly US$16 trillion (RM74 trillion) in the same year.
It is most encouraging to note that over the past few decades, the long-standing friendship and cooperation between Africa and China has grown exponentially, delivering fruitful outcomes across the board.
China’s trade with Africa has risen 20-fold over the past two decades, with China being Africa’s largest trading partner over the past decade.
The next phase of closer Africa-China cooperation is taking place against the background of the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is also on a rapidly evolving political and economic international landscape and shifting global balances of power, with a great deal of uncertainty and many new challenges on multiple fronts which will increasingly necessitate closer strategic coordination between Africa and China on a bilateral, as well as multilateral level, an approach both sides have already agreed to.
Despite many headwinds, trade between Africa and China jumped to a record level of US$282bil (RM1.3 trillion) in 2022 – an 11% increase year-on-year, bolstered by China’s wider opening-up and Beijing’s recent push to boost imports from Africa.
Chinese exports to Africa totalled US$164.49bil (RM760bil) last year, a yearly increase of 11.2%. Imports from the continent rose at a similar rate to reach US$117.51bil (RM543bil) in the same period.
It was the second consecutive year of growth after the pandemic which had a devastating effect on trade in 2020.
As Africa is regarded as an investment destination with significant untapped potential and in order to continue expansion of two-way investment, China undertook to invest a further US$60bil (RM277bil) in Africa by 2035, especially in support of African agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, environmental protection, the digital economy and the blue economy.
In terms of investment promotion, China will also encourage enterprises to invest no less than US$10bil (RM46bil) in Africa over the next three years, and will establish a platform for China-Africa private investment promotion.
The African side, which continues to face major economic and development challenges, has expectations for China-Africa cooperation to boost economic recovery and is eager to actively expand cooperation and value added exports to China.
China has noted these African concerns and consequently announced a series of practical and results-based measures which would further facilitate trade.
As economic recovery of the continent is a top priority, the implementation phase of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is of critical importance to Africa.
The AfCFTA represents a comprehensive plan which seeks to create a single, liberalised market for goods, services and capital in a 55-nation bloc of 1.3 billion people with a US$3 trillion (RM14 trillion) combined gross domestic product and which aims to enhance intra-regional trade, industrial and infrastructure development.
In supporting Africa to advance integrated cooperation, China has actively participated in the development of the AfCFTA and provided continued support toward the full implementation of this important initiative. — China Daily/ANN
Gert Grobler is a senior research fellow at the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
