Work Together to Fight against COVID-19 and Build an Even Stronger China-Africa Community

President Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Africa, with a similar fate in the past and a common mission, have long formed a community with a shared future, and have extended sympathy to and helped each other throughout the years. In the face of the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, uniting to fight the pandemic is the reason why we proposed to build a community with a shared future for mankind in the first place.

At the beginning of the new year, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid visits to Nigeria, Congo, Botswana, Tanzania, and Seychelles. It is the 31st consecutive year for China’s Foreign Minister to start his overseas trip with Africa. The sudden onslaught of COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on African countries. The minister’s visits focused on supporting African countries to fight against the virus and working with Africa to achieve our shared goal of building a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

Back in 2020, at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders of more than 50 African countries showed their supports for the Chinese people and praised China’s contributions to global public health. After the outbreak in Africa, China took the lead in assisting African nations and launched the largest humanitarian aid through providing medical supplies to 53 African countries and the African Union, which greatly eased their supply shortage. China also dispatched medical expert teams to 15 African countries and held video conferences with all African countries to exchange first-hand experience in virus prevention and control. China-Africa health cooperation is a big step forward in building the China-Africa community with a shared future.

Chinese government realized that under the double challenges of the pandemic and economic downturn, stabilizing the economy, promoting employment, and ensuring people’s livelihoods is of great significance to African countries. At the China-Africa Summit held in June 2020, President Xi delivered a speech titled “Defeating COVID-19 with Solidarity and Cooperation”, calling for more efforts to mobilize necessary resources, stick together in collaboration, and attach more importance to public health, resumption of work and production, and improvement of people’s lives. This is a significant strategic guide and a path forward for China-Africa cooperation under the new situation.

In 2021, China and Africa will usher in the triennial ministerial meeting of the FOCAC. China has always believed that promoting sustainable development in Africa is the long-term way to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future. To this end, this year, the ministerial meeting will focus on the three priorities of vaccine cooperation, economic recovery, and transformational development, and strengthen China-Africa cooperation in health, production capacity, regional connectivity, agriculture, digital technology, environmental protection, military, and personnel skills training. These are not only visions but also responsibilities.

At present, the coronavirus’ second wave is surging across the African continent. Fighting and eventually overcoming the pandemic is a difficult challenge for many African countries and also for China-Africa cooperation. In response to Africa’s situation, China once again made clear that we will continue to provide supplies and dispatch expert teams to Africa, accelerate the construction of the African CDC headquarters, cooperate with African countries on developing vaccines, and enhance the availability, accessibility, and affordability of the vaccines. These are not only China’s commitment but also China’s responsibility.

China-Africa cooperation on vaccines drew the broadest attention. Currently, vaccines have become the most critical strategic material and element in the global fight against the virus. Earlier, at the opening ceremony of the 73rd World Health Assembly video conference held in May 2020, President Xi promised that China would make the vaccines a global public product once it is completed and put into use. To make China’s contribution in enhancing the availability, accessibility, and affordability of the vaccines in developing countries, at the China-Africa Summit, he further promised that once the development and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine are completed in China, African countries will be among the first to benefit.

To cooperate with African countries on vaccine research and development, China has already taken practical actions. On December 11, 2020, the first dose of China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Cairo, Egypt. On January 10, 2021, Seychelles rolled out the COVID-19 vaccination. China will open more bilateral channels to African countries and eventually benefit the African people. We have reasons to believe that China’s vaccines will make a great contribution to Africa’s victory over the pandemic.

The pandemic will pass, and we have seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Although we cannot predict when and in what way the pandemic will end, we believe that day will come soon. In the annals of the global fight against the pandemic, China-Africa cooperation will be one of the most important and precious chapters.

Conbributed by Shen Xiaolei, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing

Translated by Ren Meiqi