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Lovemore Chikova News Editor

It is a fact that no country has brought so much hope for economic development to Africa than what China has done.

The acceleration of production capacity is what most African countries need if they are going to see through their ambitions of industrialisation.

The fact that the African Union is working on Agenda 2063 as part of its industrialisation plans means that individual countries have to take capacity production seriously to achieve the objective.

China, the biggest backer of the industrialisation programme, understands this quite well and is providing more opportunities for partnerships in production capacity and business cooperation.

It is most welcome that China is accelerating its cooperation with African countries and this is sending a strong message that the Asian country means business.

This is why the Forum on Global Production Capacity and Business Cooperation held by China in Wuhan city of Hubei province early this week was important in every aspect.

That China dedicated a whole session at the forum on Africa clearly shows the importance the Asian economic giant attaches to increasing production capacity on the continent.

Other continents like Asia and Europe also had their separate sessions at the forum.

Delegates from Africa, who included government ministers and ambassadors, clearly outlined their countries’ development path and invited the Chinese government and firms for more partnerships.

They are quite alert to the need to increase production capacity as the basis for future successes.

Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to China, Mr Paul Chikawa, for instance, told the forum that the country was ready for more partnerships to broaden its industrial base and increase production capacity.

His speech should have inspired a lot of delegates at the forum.

“Zimbabwe and China share a lot of complementarities,” he said. “China has resources in terms of capital, expertise as well as technology. We have a lot of natural resource endowments.

“We have several opportunities spanning several sectors – infrastructure, energy, water, transportation, housing, construction, agriculture and agro-industry, tourism as well as, indeed, trade itself.

“It is in this regard that we invite and welcome Chinese companies to come to Zimbabwe to operate under the banner of the production capacity cooperation.”

A close analysis of Ambassador Chikawa’s speech clearly shows that it summarises the ambitions of African countries in their efforts to partner with China.

Many African countries are endowed with natural resources which, if fully exploited, can turn around their economies by supporting industrial production capacity.

Every African country wants beneficiation and value addition to its minerals, but what lacks in most cases is the capacity to do so.

Other African delegates who spoke at the forum included those from Ghana, Lesotho, Angola, Malawi, Cote d’lvoire and Chad.

The Chinese were represented by top officials including director-general of the Department of African Affairs Mr Lin Songtian, vice president of the China-African Business Council Mr Zhang Huatong and the general manager of the Department of Northeast Africa Investment Mr Li Dongwei.

The forum was co-hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission of China, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hubei Provincial People’s Government.

China is the world’s largest developing country and the Asian country has made a commitment that on its journey to the top, it will take along other developing countries.

It is forums such as the one held in Wuhan that will help deepen the friendship between Africa and China and link firms from the Asian country with their counterparts and governments in Africa.

One of the crucial aspects of the forum was that a number of Chinese firms held an exhibition on the sidelines, showcasing their readiness for partnerships.

The firms were carefully selected and all have a bearing on the development of Africa in terms of infrastructure, agriculture, mining, energy and power and trade.

They included China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group, Hubei Agricultural Machinery Corporation, Jianglian Heavy Industry Co Ltd, Central-Southern China Engineering Consulting and Design Group and Anhui Foreign Economic Construction.

The firms were drawn from six of China’s central provinces – Hubei, Jiangxi, Shanxi, Anhui, Henan and Hunan – whose officials also participated at the global production capacity forum.

It is a fact that no country has brought so much hope for economic development to Africa than what China has done.

Former colonial powers have been offering piecemeal solutions to the development of Africa, while China is providing effective solutions to the continent’s needs.

The nature of discussions and engagement at the Forum on Global Production Capacity and Business Cooperation indeed showed that China is interested in helping African countries develop themselves.

The forum considered the development plans and industrial layouts of African countries in an attempt to provide development opportunities and real benefits for the nations and their people.

It is clear that the forum helped bring China and Africa together to enhance exchanges, deepen cooperation and jointly create a better future.

What is also of note in this regard is that there is a China-Africa industrial capacity cooperation fund in place, which is aimed at aiding Africa’s development and production capacity building.

The fund, with an initial capital of $10 billion, will help capacitate African countries in sectors such as manufacturing, hi-tech, agriculture, energy, infrastructure construction and finance.

This fund is part of the $60 billion availed to Africa for industrialisation by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Johannesburg Forum for China-Africa Cooperation in December last year.

The $60 billion facility includes $5 billion of free aid and interest free loans, $35 billion of preferential loan and export credit on more favourable terms and $5 billion on additional capital for the China-Africa Development Fund and the Special Loan for the Development of African Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

But it seems efforts by China to help Africa come out of the woods will take a little longer if production capacity cooperation is not enhanced.

Production capacity will help strengthen the pillars of industrialisation such as infrastructure and manufacturing, create jobs and increase economic capability.

It is most welcome that the provinces in central China mentioned above are planning to focus on almost all pillars of economic growth in the promotion of capacity cooperation with African countries.

At the forum, the six provinces signed 28 major projects worth about $8 billion in areas such as infrastructure, high and new technology, new energy, bio-pharmaceutical, energy conservation, logistics and environment protection.

Countries from other continents were also part of the beneficiaries of the projects.

It is important for African countries to take note of the enthusiasm demonstrated by Chinese officials at the forum on the bright prospects of the industrialisation of the continent.