adminLovemore Chikova News Editor
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) being pushed by China as a way of bringing development to different parts of the world has to be backed by a strong people-to-people exchanges.
Without good relations and understanding of the people of China and the people in countries that benefit from the BRI, the aspirations of the noble idea might actually be curtailed.
It is natural that people from different countries and cultures hold stereotypes of each other mainly because of lack of interaction among them.
Interconnectivity among such people will in the end help erase the misconceptions, and thus resulting in acceptability of developmental programmes.
This means that for the BRI to continue with its momentum and trajectory, it is important that people-to-people exchanges and interactions are enhanced and promoted alongside projects that come with the initiative.
The human touch is always important in programmes such as the BRI, and this can be enhanced through various means.
That China-Africa relations and cooperation are at their best is not in doubt, thanks to the Asian country’s deliberate policy to help the continent out of its problems.
All the ingredients for fruitful cooperation which brings tangible results in areas like industrialisation have been put in place and what is left is to increase the pace of implementation.
While the cooperation between China and African countries has been moving forward as expected, it is important that people from both sides are not left out.
For a more prosperous future, China and Africa have to enhance the existing people-to-people relations to increase more understanding among citizens.
It will not augur well for China to bring industrialisation projects to Africa when the general populace might be holding a different view of the Asian country.
What is needed is to intensify people-to-people programmes so that when the envisaged projects kick off in earnest, the people in Africa will be ready to receive and embrace them.
Of course, the Chinese government has been encouraging cultural exchanges with African countries, among other programmes that encourage people-to-people contact.
There has also been interaction between the people when China sends doctors, peacekeepers, agricultural experts and businesspeople to Africa and also invites some people like those in the media and government from the continent for further training and workshops.
What is needed now is to establish permanent platforms through which the people can interact and learn from each other’s individual experiences.
Let’s take the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum as an example.
This is one such forum which is setting a good precedent on how people-to-people interaction between Africans and Chinese can work.
I had an opportunity to witness this perfect interface when I attended the 5th Meeting of China-Africa Think Tanks Forum in Yiwu, a city in Zhejiang Province in the south of China last month.
The China-Africa Think Tanks Forum was established by Zhejiang Normal University in 2011 to create dialogue and exchanges between Chinese and African think tanks.
The other four sessions of the forum were held in Hangzhou, China (2011), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2012), Beijing, China (2013) and Tshwane, South Africa (2015).
The idea of think tanks can help transform government policies into programmes of action that can be implemented with a specific achievement being the target.
In China, think tanks have a long history, with some already in existence as far back as the early 1950s.
According to the Institute of Asian Studies in its paper entitled “China’s Foreign Policy Think Tank: Changing Roles and Structural Conditions” (2013), think tanks in the Asian country are playing an important role.
“Finally, China’s think tanks have also increased their public visibility and have emerged as a key supplier of expert analysis in the media, thereby reaching a broader audience and perhaps paving the way for their role as policy advocates,” says the institute.
And China.org.cn <http://China.org.cn> adds that think tanks in China fall into three categories: special research institutions set up by the government in accordance with national policies, research institutes affiliated to universities and institutes in the form of non-profit organisations and commercial organisations.
The think tanks usually hold workshops to analyse economic issues, identify causes of economic problems and put forth suggestions of corresponding solutions for easy implementation.
The above brings into perspective how think tanks are taken seriously in China and how they bring together people from various sectors.
This is why the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum has managed to be a tool for people-to-people cooperation in the last few years.
The forum brings experts in various fields from both China and Africa together, who brainstorm how best to enhance the relations and implement cooperation plans.
The China-Africa Think Tank Forum can be useful in enhancing the BRI programme because it brings together experts from Africa and China who can brainstorm on projects that can be implemented along this “development belt”.
The people-to-people exchanges under this forum become important in that for development to take place within the BRI, citizens have to relate to the projects being implemented. People know their culture and what is acceptable within their boundaries, and with the China-Africa Think Tank Forum, projects are discussed before implementation, thus minimising conflicts with local communities.
The two-day Yiwu City meeting attracted nearly 400 academics, business people and government officials from China and from more than 40 African countries.
The main agenda was on how China and Africa can best implement the industrialisation agenda put forth by the Asian economic giant at the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in South Africa last year.
It is also important to note that the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum operates within the framework of FOCAC.
There is no doubt that the cooperation being exhibited by this forum between Chinese and African stakeholders from various sectors will contribute much to the smooth industrialisation of Africa.
This comes bearing in mind that Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $60 billion to kick start the industrialisation project in Africa at the Johannesburg FOCAC summit.
The people-to-people cooperation and the sharing of ideas being exhibited in the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum, if extended to other areas, will very much help break barriers that may be hindering people-to-people cooperation.
The China-Africa Think Tanks’ goal is to “create a dialogue platform, nurture cooperation and encourage exchanges among Chinese and African scholars” and aims to establish a “community of common knowledge and philosophy”.
This is important in enhancing cooperation and ensuring that people from both sides make positive contributions to enhancing relations.
The cooperation between these academics will eventually contribute to the ultimate economic and political cooperation between China and Africa.
In Yiwu City, it was clear that everyone wanted the cooperation between China and Africa to be taken to the next level – that is the quick implementation of the industrialisation process for the continent.
Speakers from various fields touched on topics revolving around industrialisation such as agriculture, Special Economic Zones, finance, legal issues, manufacturing, media, health and investment.
What is now important is for the leaders to take into consideration the recommendations of this people-to-people cooperation group when they implement the projects.
By meeting regularly to discuss relations between China and Africa, the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum is laying a foundation of further interaction between Chinese and African people at other levels.
It is important that a consideration be made to have more such forums and even dissect them to focus on particular areas to enhance further people-to-people exchanges and dialogue.
There is already a basis for such cooperation at various facets between the Chinese and African peoples because of the two’s common past and shared history.
China and African countries have worked together in many areas and have already provided an example to the world of mutual cooperation and co-existence of different cultures.
While government-to-government ties are very strong between China and African countries, it is time that this cascades to interaction among the people.
This people-to-people exchange as espoused by the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum will build a strong social foundation for the enhancement of relations and easy implementation of projects.
The projects being undertaken under the industrialisation programmes will be instituted in the communities and it is important that people do not feel left out or view the projects as an imposition from their governments.
Online Reporter