The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded its third summit meeting in Beijing on yesterday, where a vast majority of Africa’s 55 countries sent their top leaders to join Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in strengthening relations between China and Africa. A declaration and an action plan were adopted. The Beijing Declaration – “Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future” and the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) were adopted at the two-phase roundtable meeting. This meeting was chaired respectively by Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, who is co-chair of the forum.To help us unpack the discussion for the day, we are joined by: • Lumkile Mondi Political Economist • Cobus Van Staden Senior Resercher: Foreign Policy ProgrammeSouth African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)• Andries Opperman Lecturer: Economics and MandarinAkademie Reformatoriese Opledeing en Studies (AROS)