2024-07-31 23:25:55
In an unusual move, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided new details regarding the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit to be held in the first week of September.
Spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday that a meeting of “senior officials” (probably at ministerial level) will be held in Beijing on September 2 and 3, followed by the Heads of State Summit the rest of the year. of the week until September 6. .
Lin also said that representatives from China and African countries are currently finalizing the agenda as part of the ongoing negotiations in Beijing and African capitals.
It is not yet clear how many African leaders will participate in the Summit, especially given the fatigue expressed by some African Heads of State about the frequency of so-called “Africa+1” summits. That said, representatives from 53 African countries attended the last FOCAC in Dakar in 2018, and most experts believe that a similar number will be present in Beijing in September.
In preparing for previous FOCAC events, the Chinese government has tended to be opaque about even the most basic details, including the date. Unsurprisingly, this year is different, as evidenced by the Chinese MFA’s proactive communication about timing and ongoing negotiations.
Meanwhile, United States Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 29, 2024 about global competition with China, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that the States must United do their best to compete more effectively with China around. The world.
China is the “defining geopolitical challenge facing modern American diplomacy,” said US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. “We have to do more,” he warned after nearly two hours at the Capitol.
Campbell expressed concern that the US is falling dangerously behind China in the race to control vital minerals in Africa needed for next-generation technologies.
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