By Ochiaka Ugwu
There is no doubt that the article written by the proactive and cerebral Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Amb. Yu Dunhai entitled: “Deepening Cooperation to jointly promote West Africa’s Development, Writing a new Chapter in China-ECOWAS Relations” has given a rare of hope and direction on how West African region can position strategically at such a tactical moment in China-Africa relations.
Yu’s exposition did not only create an important space for West Africa to reflect collectively, engage candidly, and think more deliberately about how it responds to these evolving developmental opportunities graciously offered by China, but on how best to advance West Africa’s common voice and shared interests.
Yu’s article, coming barely 24 hours after China kindly handed over a magnificent office complex to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), shows that China is fully committed in the region’s wellbeing and advancement of its peoples.
Again, it shows that China still deeply values the bond with West Africa, emphasizing sincerity, visible outcomes, friendship, partnership and good faith in working with the region. It reminds of unshaken partnership, mutually beneficial gains that have taken China-Africa cooperation to an enviable height.
However, let us look at some of the points Amb. Yu highlighted especially the zero-tariff window for 53 African Nations China has relations with.
According to Amb. Yu, “China has announced that starting from May 1 this year, it will fully implement zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries with diplomatic relations with China, significantly lowering the threshold for West African goods to enter the Chinese market. Chinese agricultural experts have taken root in West Africa, promoting high-yield crop cultivation techniques and water-saving irrigation models to help the region enhance its food self-sufficiency”.
Frankly speaking, China’s decision to open its borders for Africa goods to enter freely is more than a generosity, and rare opportunity that should not be taken for granted. It portrays Beijing’s total commitment in building the China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. China has succeeded in opening a new friendly and productive frontiers in Africa’s search for economic advancement and development.
Moreover, complete implementation of zero-tariff access shows China’s commitment to high-standard opening up, to boost trade, increase opportunities, ensure benefits for the people, expose Africa local goods to world market, expend their horizon and help the region access the great gains of the big and wide Chinese market.
This benevolence of Zero tariff demonstrates China’s readiness to work with its African brothers getting motivation from our heritages, forge a stronger bond between our people through promotion of People-To-People contact, and extend our productive partnership in the new era.
At this strategic moment in China-Africa relations, China’s zero-tariff move has created an important space for Africa to reflect communally, engage truthfully, think strategically, deliberate candidly, talk eyeball to eyeball, put ink on paper, reflect constructively about how to respond to this evolving trade opportunity with unalloyed commitment to advancing the region’s economic voice and shared interests.
There is no doubt that China’s gesture of zero tariff poses a great challenge and as well an important moment to decide Africa’s future towards economic development and advancement.
Recall that when China began its economic transformation in the 70s, it did not have this kind of privilege trade offer from anywhere nor rely on the goodwill of others. It strategically placed itself, seize opportunity, put resilience, attract goodwill, win trust and build productive power.
Africa having gotten this offer of zero tariff on a platter should be grateful to China and further look to overseas for capital, competitive labour, and designed its regulations to attract manufacturing.
Interestingly, China has provided the demand, it is now left for Africa to look inward to produce what Chinese consume.
Africa should not see Chinese market as a mere destination for export, but as a tool for national transformation and economic expansion.
Zero tariff opportunity can be used to build factories, accumulate capital, acquire knowledge, strengthen state-backed industrial capacity, and climb steadily up the value chain. Africa should use China’s new form of trade liberation to build the productive power that would eventually allow it to become an advanced economy in know distance time.
Zero tariff move is a major signal that China is desirous of helping Africa achieve its full economic potentials. It is a meaningful opening that will boost commerce between the two sides. It was tactically done as it is coming at a time when the global trading system is under stress and many economies are becoming more protective rather than being more open. That is why China’s zero-tariff offer is important for Africa.
Although, China has done its own, it is now left for Africa to live up to expectation given the fact that market access can be dynamic, but only when it is matched by production, strategy, discipline and institutional purpose.
Another area of attention is, “Leveraging the FOCAC and the Belt and Road Initiative, bilateral cooperation has extended from traditional infrastructure such as roads and ports to new areas including the digital economy, green energy, and modern agriculture, with outcomes benefiting thousands of households across West Africa”.
Truth be told, Africa’s trade with China has expanded dramatically over the last years in a relationship of enormous scale. Before now, FOCAC has helped elevate China-Africa relations beyond international relation alone, but into a more practical and honest discussion about infrastructure, industrialization, investment, market access, stronger cooperation and value chain.
At 2024 FOCAC Summit in Beijing, the Forum mapped out 10 partnership actions for the next three years, including trade prosperity and industrial chain cooperation. This is very important as it reflects a recognition on both sides that the next phase of relationship cannot simply be about moving more goods, but more about Africa products, what Africa processes, and how Africa captures more value from what it sells.
The real gain of zero-tariff structure is that it would be used to move more African processed products further up to allow the continent to retain more value before export. This arrangement will surely translate an external trade opening into an internal development response.
Amb. Yu also wrote, “We will continue to deepen political mutual trust, maintain regular communication at all levels, improve institutionalized cooperation platforms, strengthen coordination and collaboration in multilateral affairs, and jointly safeguard the common interests of developing countries”.
The above extract shows that China is not only a close friend and reliable partner to Africa, but a good brother who is ever ready to extend a helping hand. Upon challenges facing Africa, China is ever committed to sustain cooperation which is growing in bounds and leaps.
China and Africa work together with mutual assistance, respect, team up amid difficulties and treat each other with mutual respect.
Yu noted that, “We will promote the quality upgrading of practical cooperation, strengthen the alignment between China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and ECOWAS’s Vision 2050, fully release the benefits of zero-tariff treatment, and promote industrial upgrading and economic diversification in West Africa”.
I am convinced that the upgrading of practical cooperation, strengthening the alignment between China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and ECOWAS’s Vision 2050 will inject new impetus into the development of China-ECOWAS comprehensive strategic partnership and make more contributions to safeguarding the overall interests of the member nations, promoting world peace, stability, development and prosperity in the new era.
Yu stated thus “We will jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, strengthen cooperation in non-traditional security fields, pursue security through development and ensure development through stability, and help West Africa achieve lasting peace and security”.
With this promise, it shows that Beijing will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development and win-win cooperation, actively develop global partnerships, enhance friendship, solidarity and cooperation with ECOWAS and its member states steered by the principle of upholding justice while pursuing shared interests and the principle of sincerity, visible outcome, friendship, and good faith.
He noted that, “We will cultivate deeper roots of people-to-people friendship, take the opportunity of successfully hosting this year’s “China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges” to expand in-depth exchanges in the humanities field and enhance mutual understanding and affinity between the peoples of the two sides”.
Literarily, it means that China has initiated a new developmental paradigm with ECOWAS and its peoples, stating its clear readiness to continue to work with the regional body to promote harmony, consolidate on the gains of their cooperation, advance and promote flourishing partnership with the aim of ushering in a progressive China-West Africa community with a shared future.
However, the question before us, then, is not whether the opportunity is real. It is real, visible and audible in all ramification.
The challenge is whether Africa will respond to it with the determined, strategic clarity, the institutional discipline, and the economic ambition required to convert opportunity to reality and access into transformation.
To achieve this, there must be strategic responses and a coordinated African strategy to enhance and transform this rare opportunity offered by China to reality. I am hopeful that Africa will get it right this time around and China’s zero-tariff provision will not be remembered merely as a policy pronouncement or a trade concession, but a strategic goodwill extended to Africa by China influenced by Beijing honest desire to build a shared humanity.
Of a truth, this gesture of free tariff will not only change headlines, but outcomes that will turn around Africa’s fortunes for better.
Ochiaka, a journalist, writes from Abuja.
