China's Wang Yi Begins 2025 Africa Tour: How Significant Is This Trip?

CGTN Europe

CGTN Europe Interviewed Isabel Hilton, Founder of China Dialogue

Transcript

00:00Isabel Hilton is the founder of the organization China Dialogue.

00:04Isabel, welcome back, good to see you.

00:06What's the significance of Wang Yi's visit to Africa?

00:10Well, we're reminded every year, at the beginning of the year,

00:13of the value that China places on the Africa relationship

00:17because this is now a 35-year tradition

00:21that the first trip the Foreign Minister makes is to Africa.

00:25Of course, symbolism is important in diplomacy,

00:31but this is a mark of respect, it's a mark of commitment,

00:35of long-term commitment, and it stands for, if you like,

00:39all the investment and trade relationships that China has with Africa,

00:44which come under regular review, regular discussion,

00:47and China is always seeking to develop them.

00:51Many countries have deep footsteps in Africa.

00:54Is China's approach to Africa different from that of the United States,

00:58the EU, and other Western countries?

01:02Well, I think historically, obviously, it's different.

01:06I mean, the distinction that China would make

01:08is that historically it wasn't a colonial power in Africa.

01:11Today, I'm not sure there's such a big distinction,

01:14although there clearly is a big difference in scale.

01:17The EU has its own global gateway program,

01:20which is a development program for Africa,

01:22much smaller than China's investment.

01:26And, of course, the nature of China's investment continues to evolve.

01:30We're not seeing quite as many big infrastructure projects

01:33as we did at the beginning of the Belt and Road Initiative,

01:36but we're seeing an increased importance, for example,

01:39on Africa as a strategic supply chain partner in terms of minerals,

01:46particularly strategic minerals,

01:48and particularly those which are involved in the low-carbon transition.

01:52So I think that if you look at the scale of China's operations in Africa,

01:57that's the key difference between the US and, indeed, the European Union.

02:02Namibia, Congo, Chad, Nigeria.

02:05What are the reasons for selecting these particular countries,

02:08and what might those countries expect to gain from China?

02:14Well, they all have their particular relationships.

02:19Nigeria is a very important influence in West Africa

02:25and an important influence within the African Union,

02:29so enhanced cooperation with Nigeria would be good

02:32for promoting China's interests across the continent.

02:36There's a big energy relationship with Nigeria,

02:39and, indeed, with Chad, important bilateral trade relationships.

02:47So these countries, the visit traditionally picks different countries every year.

02:55The Congo is also, I believe, chairing FOCAC this year,

03:01and this is an anniversary year for FOCAC,

03:03the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation,

03:07which is a big and important part of this relationship.

03:10And I think that we would perhaps expect some advance on the proposal

03:16that Xi Jinping made at the last FOCAC summit last year

03:20that the relationships with African countries be upgraded to strategic relationships.

03:26So I think we'd probably see some progress on that.

03:29Isabel, good to see you. Thank you for that.

03:31Isabel Hilton, the founder of the organization China Dialogue.

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