China-SADC cooperation expected to flourish: African think tank

HARARE, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The election of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should help boost China-SADC cooperation, according to an African regional think tank.

Munetsi Madakufamba, executive director of the Southern African Research and Documentation Center (SARDC), a SADC knowledge partner based in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital, told reporters Tuesday that they have high expectations for the forthcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, including the further elevation of the all-round China-Zimbabwe and China-SADC cooperation.

Madakufamba made the remarks Tuesday at a half-day seminar held in Zimbabwe's capital of Harare to discuss ways to strengthen relations between China and SADC ahead of the FOCAC Summit which will be held in Beijing early next month. The seminar was held under the auspices of the SARDC Institute for China-Africa Studies in Southern Africa in conjunction with the Center for Africa Studies of Peking University.

Mnangagwa assumed the rotating chairmanship of the SADC regional grouping in a summit held in Zimbabwe this month.

"President Mnangagwa has just taken over the chair of SADC and from a regional perspective, it is important that we see the strengthening of relations between China and SADC. I do not doubt that as the new chairperson of SADC, that will be one of the issues that will be on the president's mind and further to that, taking the China-Zimbabwe relations to the next level building on what we have achieved so far," Madakufamba said.

Madakufamba said Mnangagwa is already active in building and strengthening synergies for regional industrial development, hence the forthcoming FOCAC Summit must seize the opportunity to enhance China-Africa relations through formalization and development of relations with SADC as a regional organization of 16 countries and build a China-Africa community with a shared future.

An expert in Southern Africa's regional development and integration, Madakufamba said SADC must leverage its strategic partnership with China under the FOCAC framework and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to boost cooperation and advance industrialization in the region.

"FOCAC presents a fresh South-South cooperation partnership that is mutually beneficial," he stressed.

He said FOCAC emphasizes mutual respect, equality, and joint consultation. "These are very key features of FOCAC which makes it different from other partnerships that Africa has with other countries and regional bodies around the globe."

He hailed China for its cooperation thrust where it is transferring technology to Africa because it understands the need for equitable development.

"China has always stood firmly with Africa, supporting development projects across sectors and this practical cooperation has now become even more important given the new challenges that Africa is now facing in the post-COVID era which now calls for an even deeper and closer cooperation between China and Africa and such support can take many forms but mainly we want to see closer cooperation," Madakufamba said, adding that at the forthcoming FOCAC summit, Africa is eyeing to boost cooperation with China with particular priority on energy generation and other infrastructure development that cut across countries and regions.