A momentous event last week could be the turning point in the war against Covid-19. On Wednesday, 13 African leaders participated in the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against Covid-19.
The virtual event, chaired by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, came on the backdrop of increased concern over the health and economic impacts of the pandemic on Africa.
The continent had recorded 7,217 deaths and 268,391 infections by Thursday, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.
Many public health systems in Africa are getting increasingly constrained, signalling the need for additional knowledge and resources to stem the spread of the virus. Even more forlorn is the impact on the continent’s economies. With imminent financial crises, businesses are closing down. People are rendered jobless with more families slipping into poverty.
African leaders who spoke at the summit — including President Uhuru Kenyatta, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria — acknowledged the economic devastation that the virus had dealt the continent.
Since the continent confirmed its first case on February 14, in Egypt, there has been increased rhetoric and fears globally regarding the plight of Africa. But China has been a strong partner in the fight.
Indeed, the need for essential commodities such as testing kits, medicines, ventilators, face masks and protective clothing has only heightened as the virus digs deeper in Africa. China’s commitment to provide supplies, sending expert teams and expediting the construction of the Africa CDC headquarters is certainly welcome.
Equally, China’s cancellation of the debts of relevant African countries in the form of interest-free government loans was a timely response to the continent’s pleas and will free up resources for better responses to the pandemic. If heeded, President Xi’s call to the G20 to extend the debt service suspension for the affected countries would also allow Africa to better focus on containing the pandemic.
The most urgent and enduring task for Africa remains saving lives while keeping the economy afloat. And by expediting the Belt and Road cooperation, it could strengthen its industrial capacity and recreate the jobs swallowed up by the pandemic, as well as hoist its connectivity.
The need to ramp up investments in key priority areas — such as the digital economy, smart cities and 5G technologies — have not only been heightened by the health crisis, but would also provide a solid backdrop for Africa’s integration and socioeconomic development.
The summit stymied sentiments that China was primed to pull back from the continent. Fuelling this pessimism was the scaling down of the budget for China International Development Cooperation Agency by 47 per cent for this year. As the largest recipient of Chinese development assistance, the reduced budgetary allocation to the aid agency signalled less resources to inject into Africa’s productive sectors from China.
Besides, the alleged racial targeting of Africans in China on claims of being vectors of Covid-19 brought apprehension and outrage in the continent. Similarly, Chinese nationals in Africa have been on the receiving end of racial slurs with three of them, tragically, killed in Zambia.
It was clear that African leaders appreciated the help China had extended to the continent — including Beijing’s willingness to give further aid and concessions on debt while proposing ways to jointly reboot the economies.
Covid-19 is certainly creating a new world. But it has also reminded us of the inevitability of shared human destiny and emphasised the need for even stronger cooperative agreements between the two entities. The leaders of China and Africa must be pragmatic enough and amplify their efforts to deliver value for citizens.
Mr Cavince is a scholar of international relations @Cavinceworld
Related reporting
More Columns And Opinions →