How China ‘leapfrogs' other nations to build close African trade and military ties
Wang Yi last month highlighted Beijing's 'leapfrog development' in ties with
African countries in the 25 years since the setting up of the Forum on
China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
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Addressing a FOCAC ministerial event on June 11, Wang noted that trade had surged nearly 30-fold while Chinese
investment had grown almost 100-fold since the strategic dialogue mechanism was set up in 2000.
In parallel to closer economic ties, there has also been increased cooperation on the security front. Before FOCAC, which includes all but one of the 54 African nations, China had not conducted any
military drills in Africa , accounted for less than 5 per cent of African weapons inventories and had fewer than 200 African officers in its military schools.
The Young Leaders Conference of China-Africa Peace and Security Forum, another FOCAC-related event, hosted about 90 military officers from over 40 African nations this week in Nanjing.
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The five-day event from July 15 was hosted by China's defence ministry and organised by its Army Command College. According to the ministry, the event aimed to 'implement the outcomes' of last year's FOCAC summit in Beijing and to strengthen 'consensus, solidarity, and cooperation' on peace and security.
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