President Buhari to address FOCAC summit in Beijing

President Muhammadu Buhari will join Chinese President Xi Jinping to address the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) which holds in September in the Chinese capital Beijing to strengthen China-Africa and China- Nigeria cooperation.

The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian disclosed this at the weekend while addressing reporters on the preparations so far made and the fundamental agenda of the Beijing summit themed “China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation.”

The envoy noted that Nigeria is a strategic bilateral partner in trade, investment and infrastructure development with China adding that President Buhari will address the summit after the opening address of the Chinese President Jinping, in recognition of the leading position of Nigeria in global affairs especially in it ties with China.

Since its inception in 2000 FOCAC has become a key platform for the growing collective dialogue and cooperation between China and African countries, which has greatly enhanced China’s trade with Africa, and China’s trade with Nigeria, that has now overtaken that of the traditional partners, Europe and the United States.

China has increasingly earmarked funds in successive years for infrastructural development in Africa since the launch of FOCAC in 2000. The last summit was held in December 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the Chinese President Xi Jinping announced $60 billion funding support for infrastructural development in Africa even as Pingjian said the implementation work of the FOCAC Johannesburg summit has been going smoothly with prominent achievements in Nigeria.

BusinessDay gathered that the Chinese government is planning an increase in the funding support to about $100 billion to satisfy the increasing demand for investment and infrastructural development by African countries.

Pingjian said the FOCAC summit would adopt a new Action Plan, adding that the new Chinese commitments to Africa would be embedded in the new document.

The envoy also disclosed that officials from 52 African countries, including the African Union Commission, are expected to attend the Beijing summit even as he tasked leaders of the continent especially Nigeria to take advantage of the Belt and Roads component of the Beijing summit.

“The China-Nigeria relations have since entered a new stage of rapid development. It is our firm belief that President Buhari’s attendance at the upcoming FOCAC Beijing Summit will make important contribution to China-Africa cooperation and bring about new opportunities to grow China-Nigeria strategic partnership,” he said.

He also reiterated his country’s commitment to stepping up its cooperation with Nigeria in agriculture, manufacturing, industrial capacity and investment, infrastructure, energy, and other areas. He added that the Beijing summit would bring about new opportunities to grow China-Nigeria strategic partnership.

Innocent Odoh, Abuja