摘要：This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). On March 7th, at a press conference during
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). On March 7th, at a press conference during the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded to a question from a Nigerian journalist, stating that China and Africa have always been good friends, good partners, and good brothers sharing a common future. Under the joint leadership of Chinese President and African leaders, China-Africa relations have entered their best period in history. China has established strategic partnerships with all African countries that have diplomatic relations with it, and the positioning of the China-Africa community with a shared future has been elevated to an "all-weather" level.
Ye Hailin
Recently, Ye Hailin, General-Director of the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies (IWAAS) and Executive President of the China-Africa Institute (CAI) of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was interviewed by Yangcheng Evening News, where he addressed questions about China-Africa relations in the new era.
China and Africa have maintained close cooperation through changing times
Yangcheng Evening News: Last September, the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was successfully held in Beijing, achieving fruitful results and upgrading the overall positioning of China-Africa relations to a new-era all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future. How do you interpret the "all-weather" characteristic of this community?
Ye Hailin: "All-weather" means that despite changing global circumstances, China and Africa have always maintained very close cooperation, which aligns with the historical pattern of their bilateral and multilateral relations. The friendship between China and Africa was forged during their respective struggles for national liberation. Especially in the 1960s and 1970s, during Africa's national liberation movements, China provided tremendous support and assistance, playing a significant role in Africa's decolonization, forming a friendship sealed in blood.
Since the 1990s, China has been more deeply involved in Africa's unification movement and regional cooperation. From the birth of the African Union to regional economic integration, China has fulfilled its obligations as the largest developing country. Now, in the new era, China-Africa cooperation has reached a new height, with all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China upgrading their bilateral ties to strategic partnerships—an extraordinary "diplomatic miracle." Since the mid-20th century, international politics has undergone dramatic changes, yet the China-Africa friendship has remained unchanged. The term "all-weather" not only summarizes historical experience but also reflects expectations for the future development of China-Africa relations.
China and Africa complement each other in institutions, discourse influence, finance, and technology
Yangcheng Evening News: The Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) last year outlined six proposals for jointly advancing modernization between China and Africa and defined ten partnership initiatives for this goal. How can China contribute to Africa's modernization? What role can Africa play in China's high-quality development?
Ye Hailin: First, in terms of tangible support such as funding, technology, and market expansion, China has provided strong assistance to Africa, laying a solid foundation for the modernization of this promising continent. Secondly, intangible support is equally important. The successful experience of China's modernization and its governance model are also valuable for Africa. The first initiative in the ten-point action plan of the Summit is to establish a platform for China-Africa governance experience exchange. This indicates that China's experience and models in modernization can provide even greater support to Africa in its development journey.
Africa has a large population, and vast land. It is also the source of many of the world's major energy and raw materials. These complement China's capital, technology, and resources. Africa's representation in international multilateral mechanisms also provides valuable support for China's proposed new vision to construct a new international order in the new era. Since China restored its legitimate seat at the United Nations in the 1970s, many of China's constructive proposals for the adjustment of the international order have become international consensus with the support of African countries. There is significant complementarity between China and Africa in areas such as systems, discourse influence, capital, technology, and market expansion.
We proved that "If China succeeds, African countries can succeed, and so can Global South countries"
Yangcheng Evening News: In what ways will China-Africa cooperation reshape the voice of the "Global South" in the international order?
Ye Hailin: From infrastructure construction and technology transfer to financial investment, China's support provides long-term and stable development momentum for Africa, especially in the context of a sluggish global market and rising trade protectionism. At the same time, China helps Africa build its own capacity for self-sustaining growth, which not only facilitates Africa's urbanization and industrialization but also enables it to improve livelihoods and promote sustainable development independently.
More importantly, China-Africa cooperation can stimulate sustainable development momentum for Global South countries, helping them gradually reduce dependence on Western markets, technology, capital, and even influence. Within the Global South framework, this cooperation signifies Africa's "deep awakening"—a historical process toward economic independence and self-sustained industrialization, which is closely linked to China's long-term, unwavering support and friendly collaboration.
The most significant aspect of China-Africa cooperation is that it provides an essential value reference for Global South countries, demonstrating that such collaboration facilitates modernization for both parties. The success of China's modernization process has instilled strong confidence in Africa's modernization efforts, while the continuous achievements of China-Africa cooperation also serve as a model for deeper collaboration among Global South countries. We must recognize the twofold demonstration effect that China-Africa efforts bring to the modernization of Global South countries: first, if China succeeds, African nations can succeed, and so can Global South countries; second, China and Africa working together can gain even greater achievement.
Yangcheng Evening News: Some Western countries are aiming to compete with the China-Africa cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative through strategies like the "Global Gateway". What challenges does this pose for China-Africa cooperation?
Ye Hailin: Chinese enterprises and investors are not afraid of any open and fair competition, and we will not shy away from it. If any foreign enterprise can engage in equal competition with Chinese companies in Africa, it is beneficial to Africa, to China, and to the world as a whole.
What we oppose is malicious suppression under the guise of competition, and the use of non-market methods to disrupt the normal cooperation between China and African countries. Many competitors, with a zero-sum or even negative-sum game mentality, are trying to use certain tactics to undermine the friendly cooperation between China and African nations. This is what we truly oppose.
Guangdong should become a leading province in overseas investment
Yangcheng Evening News: Guangdong accounts for about 15% of China's total trade with Africa, and every year, a large number of African businessmen visit Guangzhou for the Canton Fair. What role do you think Guangdong plays in China-Africa cooperation? How can Guangdong leverage its advantages to contribute more to this partnership?
Ye Hailin: It is well known that Guangdong has achieved remarkable historical success in exploring and advancing Chinese modernization. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, Guangdong has played a significant role in bringing China closer to global economic cooperation and integrating China into the global market.
However, under the new growth framework and model, China's modernization process imposes new demands on Guangdong. The traditional model of driving economic growth through export trade needs adjustment under the new development paradigm. While Guangdong has been the primary source of China's exports to Africa, in the future, it should not only continue its role as a major foreign trade hub but also transform into a leader in overseas investment. Guangdong should encourage more enterprises to invest and start businesses in Africa, facilitating the localization of Chinese economic elements in Africa and providing stronger endogenous momentum for African industrialization.
If the first 40 years of reform and opening up laid a solid foundation for China's development through foreign trade, then in the future, under the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese enterprises will develop themselves overseas, integrating more deeply into global markets, and participating more actively in local market development, which will be crucial for China's sustainable economic growth. It is hoped that Guangdong will continue to play its pioneering role in reform and opening up, act proactively, and make even greater contributions to China-Africa cooperation.
Source：Lingnan on the Cloud
羊城晚报记者专访中国非洲研究院院长、中国社会科学院西亚非洲研究所所长叶海林：
中非合作不断取得成就为全球南方合作提供了样板
今年是中非合作论坛成立25周年。3月7日，在十四届全国人大三次会议举行的记者会上，中共中央政治局委员、外交部长王毅回答尼日利亚记者提问时表示，中国和非洲从来都是命运与共的好朋友、好伙伴、好兄弟。在习近平主席和非方领导人共同引领下，中非关系进入历史最好时期，中国与非洲所有建交国实现了战略伙伴关系“全覆盖”，中非命运共同体定位提升到“全天候”层级。
近日，中国非洲研究院院长、中国社会科学院西亚非洲研究所所长叶海林接受羊城晚报记者专访，就新时代中非关系回答了记者提问。
历经风云变幻，中非始终保持紧密合作
羊城晚报：去年9月，中非合作论坛峰会在北京成功举办。峰会取得丰硕成果，将中非关系整体定位提升至新时代全天候中非命运共同体。您如何理解中非命运共同体的“全天候”特征？
叶海林：所谓“全天候”是指历经风云变幻，中非始终保持着非常紧密的合作，这契合双方在双边关系以及多边关系发展中的历史规律。中非友谊是在各自实现民族解放的过程中建立的。特别是在二十世纪六七十年代非洲国家的民族解放运动当中，中国提供了巨大的支持和帮助，在非洲去殖民化上发挥了重大作用，双方形成了以鲜血凝成的友谊。
二十世纪九十年代以来，我们更深度参与非洲的统一运动和区域合作，从非盟的诞生到区域经济一体化，中国都履行了作为最大的发展中国家应承担的义务。如今，进入新时代，中非合作也上升到了一个新高度，中国和非洲所有建交国家双边关系都发展为战略合作伙伴关系，堪称外交上的“奇迹”。上世纪中叶到现在，国际政治风云变幻，但是中非友谊始终没有变过，“全天候”既是对历史经验的总结，也是对未来中非关系发展的预期。
中非在制度、话语、资金、技术等方面互补
羊城晚报：去年的中非合作论坛北京峰会明确了中非携手推进现代化六大主张，确定了中非携手推进现代化十大伙伴行动。在帮助非洲实现现代化上，中国能发挥怎样的作用？在中国高质量发展中，非洲可以提供哪些帮助？
叶海林：首先，在资金、技术以及市场开拓等硬支持方面，中国为非洲提供了强大助力，这为一片充满希望的大陆的现代化建设打下了坚实基础。其次，软支持同样重要，中国式现代化建设的成功经验和治国理政模式同样值得非洲借鉴。中非合作论坛北京峰会的十项行动计划中的第一项，就是要建立中非治国理政经验交流平台，从这一点就可以看出，在中非携手推进现代化的过程中，中国在现代化道路上所取得的经验、开创的模式能够给非洲提供更大的支持。
非洲人口众多、土地广袤，也是世界上多种主要能源和原材料的来源地，与中国的资金、技术和资源形成互补；其在国际多边机制中的代表性，也为中国提出的构建新时代国际秩序新主张提供了宝贵支持。从二十世纪七十年代中国恢复联合国合法席位以来，中国关于国际秩序调整的很多建设性主张，都是在非洲国家的支持下成为国际共识。双方无论是在制度、话语还是资金技术、市场开拓等方面，都有非常大的互补性。
证明“中国行，非洲国家就行，全球南方国家也行”
羊城晚报：中非合作将在哪些方面重塑“全球南方”在国际秩序中的话语权？
叶海林：从基础设施建设、技术转移到资金注入，中国的支持能在全球市场低迷、贸易保护主义抬头的背景下，为非洲提供长期而稳定的发展动力。同时，中国帮助非洲建立自身的造血机能，不仅有助于非洲实现城市化和工业化，更能让非洲靠自身的能力服务民生、推动可持续发展。
更重要的是，中非合作能够激发全球南方国家的可持续发展动力，帮助其逐步摆脱对西方市场、技术、资金乃至话语权的依赖。在全球南方框架下开展的合作，可以说是非洲大陆的“深度觉醒”——即实现经济独立和自主工业化的历史进程，这与中国长期不懈的支持和友好合作密不可分。
中非合作最重要的一点是给全球南方国家提供了一个重要的价值指向，即中非合作有利于双方的现代化进程。中国式现代化建设的成功给非洲国家的现代化建设注入了强有力的信心，而中非合作不断取得成就也为全球南方国家深入合作提供了一个样板。我们要高度重视中非携手共建现代化对于全球南方国家建设现代化浪潮产生的两方面示范带动作用：一是中国行，非洲国家就行，全球南方国家也行；二是中非携手能够让这个“行”变得更行。
羊城晚报：某些西方国家利用“全球门户”计划等推进新的对非战略，有意与中非共建“一带一路”形成竞争。这对中国和非洲的合作构成哪些挑战？
叶海林：中国的企业和投资者们对任何开放的、公平的竞争都不会感到恐惧，我们也不会拒绝这种竞争。如果任何一家外资企业在非洲能够和中国企业展开平等竞争，这对非洲有利、对中国有利、对全世界也有利。
我们反对的是以竞争为名、行损人不利己的恶意打压行为，反对使用市场经济以外的一些手段来破坏中国与非洲国家之间的正常合作。有很多竞争者抱着零和博弈甚至负和博弈的心态来参与，试图用一些手段破坏中国与非洲国家之间的友好合作，这一点是真正要反对的。
未来广东应成为对外投资的大省和强省
羊城晚报：广东对非进出口总额占全国的15%左右，每年广交会都有大量非洲商人来广州淘金。您认为广东在中非合作中扮演什么角色？广东应怎样用好自身优势为中非合作贡献力量？
叶海林：众所周知，广东在探索推进中国式现代化进程中取得举世瞩目的历史性成就。在过去40多年的改革开放进程中，广东在拉近中国与全球国家的经贸合作、推动中国融入全球市场方面所发挥的作用有目共睹。
然而，在新的增长格局和模式下，中国的现代化建设对广东提出了新要求。特别是以商品贸易出口推动经济增长的模式，在新发展格局和新发展理念下需要调整。过去，中国对非洲的商品出口主要来自广东。未来，广东除了继续发挥外贸大省、强省的作用外，还要成为对外投资的大省和强省，发挥龙头引领作用。应鼓励更多广东企业前往非洲投资、创业，实现中国经济元素与非洲经济元素的本地化融合，为非洲工业化提供更强劲的内生动力。
如果说，改革开放的前40年，外贸为中国发展奠定了坚实基础，那么未来，在“一带一路”框架下，中国企业走出去，更深入地融入全球市场，更多地参与当地市场开发，对中国经济的可持续发展至关重要。希望广东能继续发挥改革开放领头羊的作用，在这一过程中积极作为，为中非合作贡献更大力量。
总策划丨胡泉
总统筹丨蒋铮
统筹丨赵鹏 付怡
文稿丨刘泳希 付怡 戚美青
摄影丨温泽广
剪辑丨曾潇 古司祺 戚美青
来源：羊城派
