Lin Songtian: Join hands to bring marginalized Africa back to the main track of development

Wu Yuna

O n June 30， the 33rd annual session of the Crans Montana Forum opened in Brussels， Belgium. Lin Songtian， president of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， was invited to attend online as a special guest and delivered a keynote speech.

More than 200 politicians and former politicians from 17 countries， including Mauritius and the Democratic Republic of the Congo， attended the opening ceremony in person. Opening remarks were given by Thomas Yayi Boni， former president of the Republic of Benin and former president of the African Union； Pascal Affi NGuessan， former prime minister of Front Populaire Ivoirien； Gilbert Houngbo， former president of Togo and president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development； Soares Sambu， vice-prime minister of Guinea Bissau； Abdoulaye Diop， minister of foreign affairs of Mali； Ryad Mezzour， Moroccos minister of industry and trade； Christine Hoebes， minister in the Presidency of Namibia； Alain-Claude Bilie-by-nze， Gabon minister of state； and Daid Hussein Lid， Somalias minister of agriculture and irrigation.

Lin of the CPAFFC conveyed his congratulations on the opening of the forum. He said that Africa is the youngest continent and is full of hope and development vitality， having abundant natural and human resources， as well as strong political aspirations for sustainable development.

Thanks to China-Africa cooperation， Africa has built up a momentum and is experiencing rapid development. It has the opportunity and capability to realize “corner overtaking” and become a new growth pole of the world economy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution wave and economic globalization.

“It is regrettable that the world today is confronted with profound changes and a pandemic — both unseen in a century，” Lin said， adding：“The Ukraine crisis triggered by geopolitics and a Cold War mentality has seriously damaged the security of global industrial， supply and capital chains and led to a global food， energy and financial crisis， making the people around the world — especially those in Africa and other less developed countries — innocent victims.”

Lin emphasized that major developed countries have concentrated their attention and funds on ideological and bloc confrontation， politicized mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation， tried to create another version of NATO in the AsiaPacific region that further marginalized Africa， and made African people suffer in a severe production and survival crisis， as well as threatening them with famine. All those things have aroused high vigilance by emerging economies， such as BRICS and Africa.

“China pursues the new path of win-win cooperation for common development and will never adopt the old mindset of zero-sum game，”Lin said. “China has been committed to developing relations with other countries on the basis of mutual respect， equality， mutual benefit， mutual learning and common development. We stand ready to share without reservation our development experience， opportunities and achievements with Africa.”

Lin noted that Chinas policy toward Africa is action oriented. Under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation， President Xi Jinping has announced Ten Major Cooperation Plans， Eight Major Initiatives and Nine Major Programs on China-Africa cooperation. The sole purpose is to support African countries in improving their capacity for selfsustaining development， breaking development bottlenecks — inadequate infrastructure， lack of professional and skilled personnel and shortages of financial resources — to achieve win-win cooperation for common development.

Chinas policy toward Africa is open and transparent， he said. The political declarations and action plans adopted after consultation at each conference of the triennial FOCAC are all open to the public through media and serve as the common guidelines and measures of China-Africa cooperation.

China has always kept its word when implementing its policies regarding Africa. It has never broken its promises， never attached political conditions， never interfered in the internal affairs of African countries and never forced others to do anything against their will.

Lin expressed the belief that an Africa of lasting peace， development and prosperity will not only conform with the common interests of the people of Europe， China and the rest of the world but also is the common responsibility of the international community. To support Africas selfsustaining development is not only a historical responsibility and a moral requirement but also a practical demand for Europe. With a socially stable and economically prosperous Africa， Europe will no longer have to tackle severe refugee problems. Instead， it will embrace a huge consumer market.

Lin noted that Africa has been eager to achieve its own development and has been looking forward to international cooperation， but it has never been lacking in pompous strategic slogans from major powers. Africa needs concrete measures and actions of mutually beneficial international cooperation instead of empty promises. Africa needs equality and mutual respect， not preaching or lectures. Africa wants capacity-building for self-sustaining development rather than simple exporting of raw materials. Africa welcomes win-win cooperation for common development instead of “one gains， one loses”， Lin said.

Lin thanked Jean-Paul Carteron， founder of the Crans Montana Forum， for his gracious invitation and decades of commitment to building a platform for high-level dialogue and friendly， mutually beneficial cooperation. He expressed willingness to actively support the forum as a bridge of communication and cooperation with China， Africa and Europe； to promote tripartite cooperation on the basis of fully respecting Africas wishes and consent， to bring marginalized Africa back to the main track of development； help Africa achieve lasting peace and independent， sustainable development； and make new contributions to building a closer community with a shared future for mankind.

Jean-Paul Carteron， chairman and founder of the Crans Montana Forum， thanked President Lin for providing ideas and suggestions for Africas integration into the world. He said that China is an indispensable country for international cooperation. The Crans Montana Forum will join hands with the CPAFFC to promote global cooperation and exchanges and will work together for a better world， he said.

The Crans Montana Forum is a Swiss NGO with a history of 36 years. Its mission is to build a better and more humane world by fostering international exchanges and cooperation through enhanced dialogue between government policymakers， leaders of international organizations and business elites. The theme of the annual session was “The World in the Era of Africas Economic Sovereignty”.