Beijing, China, 7th September 2024.
On September 7th, the Alliance for African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI) and the African Union (AU), with the support of Development Reimagined, organized a high-level forum on “Building Bridges: Collaboration for Growth Between African Multilateral Financial Institutions and China” in Beijing. The event was AAMFI’s first showcase in China, which truly highlighted the impactful work AAMFI members do across the continent towards achieving sustainable development.
Building on the concluded 9th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the event stimulated an extremely interesting discussion, which explored new areas of collaboration between AMFIs and China. In particular, panelists debated how innovative forms of finance and trade commitments could play a vital role in catalyzing economic growth across the African continent and how Chinese partners can actively deliver results.
Dr. George Elombi, Executive Vice President, Corporate Governance and Legal Services of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), representing the AAMFI Chairperson, Professor Benedict Oramah, the President and Chair of the Board of Afreximbank, opened the discussion by highlighting the imperative role that AMFIs will play in the Ten Points Plan in President Xi’s speech, in particular in zero-tariff line expansion and industrial chain collaboration. Dr Elombi went on to stress that this Plan points to a continued and elevated partnership between China and AMFIs going forward.
Figure 1: Dr. George Elombi of Afreximbank at the forum
H.E Commissioner Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry, and Minerals, noted that the key to moving to the next stage is urgent implementation with concrete next steps to drive substantive results from the FOCAC process over the next three years.
Figure 2: H.E. Commissioner Albert Muchanga giving his remarks at the forum
Following the speeches, Ms Hannah Ryder provided an in-depth presentation on the key commitments from FOCAC9 with comparisons to previous commitments under FOCAC8. The presentation can be downloaded here. [Click Here].
The event also showcased videos by different AAMFI members which highlighted their ongoing contributions towards the development of the continent.
Figure 3: Moderator for the panel discussion Ms Hannah Ryder, CEO of Development Reimagined
The panel discussion was moderated by Ms Hannah Ryder, with an excellent lineup of speakers including;
- Ms Nardos Bekele-Thomas, African Union Development Agency – NEPAD,
- Honourable Mr Gyude Moore, former Minister of Public Works for Liberia and non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development,
- Mr Qi Shuwei, Vice Chairman of China-Africa Business Council, Chairman of Jiangsu Jielong Agriculture Development Company,
- Ms Zhang Tingting, Executive Director, Sovereign and International Rating, China Chengxin International (CCXI),
- Mr Kenneth Tanyi, Investor and Government Relations, Membership & Partnership Development, African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI),
- Ms Wang Luo, Director, Institute of International Development Cooperation, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAITEC).
The discussion brought out several key points;
- Coming out of FOCAC9, there is a need for a result-driven plan, with clear collaboration between China and AMFIs, with tangible next steps to take FOCAC9 commitments forward.
- Infrastructure plans need to be put into a continental vision, with concrete evidence being critical to increase bankability and raise investment from Chinese partners with support from AMFIs.
- New trade commitments offer a strong opportunity for Africa to increase its exports to China. However, this must be supported by new policies promoting trade capacity, balanced trade and investment, and research collaboration, in which both Chinese partners and AMFIs play a fundamental role.
- Innovative sources of finance from Chinese partners – such as RMB internationalization and Panda Bonds – will require scaling up collaboration with AMFIs.
- Local manufacturing in value-addition industries across the continent is a key priority coming out of FOCAC9. Going forward, Chinese companies must continue to invest within the African market, with policies such as the AfCFTA offering a key opportunity for intra-Africa trade.
Figure 4: Panel discussion at the Forum
The event wrapped up with closing remarks by H.E. Rahamtallah Osman, Permanent Representative of the African Union in China who brought out the vast potential that lies within the collaboration between China and AMFIs – where the fusion of China resources and expertise with Africa’s dynamism and opportunities, can create transformative impacts across the continent.
Figure 5: H.E Rahamtallah Osman gave closing remarks
Mr Babajide Sodipo, Acting Executive Secretary, AAMFI, closed the forum by stressing that AAMFI will continue to work with the African Union to engage with the Chinese government and partners to ensure that FOCAC commitments come to life.
Figure 6: The Ag. Executive Secretary of the AAMFI Secretariat, Mr Babajide Sodipo at the forum
Watch the full event here
