Consensus Among African and Chinese Think Tanks on Deepening Global Development Cooperation (Summary)

(The Africa-China Dar es Salaam Consensus)

Currently, the world faces challenges and harbors hope for peace and development. At this moment, it is essential to weave greater wisdom and reach broader consensus in the realm of knowledge and ideas, as human society needs more mutual dependence to share weal and woe. As important members of the Global South, both Africa and China bear the historical mission of development and rejuvenation to benefit their people. Together they should actively participate in global governance systems, promote countries to move towards modernization, and build a community of shared future for mankind. Therefore, during the 13th Meeting of the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum, we have reached a consensus and called on the international community to deepen development cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect, solidarity, win-win cooperation, openness, and common prosperity, thereby enhancing knowledge-sharing,  ideological consensus as well as cultural co-prosperity.

1. We call for giving a priority to development and exploring independent, people-centered paths of mutual respect and mutual learning.

We advocate the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom for all humanity, and implement Global Development Initiative. We agree to support countries in exploring modernization models based on cultural characteristics and development needs, enhancing dialogue rather than conflicts, and exchanging governance experiences. We will ensure that our development is for the people and by the people and the fruits of development are shared among human beings in a bid to protect everyone's right to pursue a better life.

2. We call for promoting the building of an equal and orderly multipolar world to facilitate common development.

We advocate greater democracy in international relations, increase the representation and voice of developing countries in the international system, and timely redress the historical injustices suffered by Africa. We respect and defend each country's national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and right to development. Moreover, we will also optimize global resource allocation, address the imbalance in development between and within countries in the context of Global Development Initiative, so that all countries, big and small, strong and weak, rich and poor, can enjoy equal development opportunities.

3. We call for advancing a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization to share the dividends of development.

We are committed to strengthen global economic governance, eliminate trade and economic barriers, and establish a more resilient, inclusive, smooth, and efficient global supply chain. We believe and support countries in and out of Africa could leverage their comparative advantages, keep advancing industrialization and agricultural modernization, better participate in the international division of labor, and make positive contributions to promoting global economic circulation, global economic growth, and the well-being of all peoples.

4. We call for promoting reform of the international financial system actively to bridge the development gap.

We agree to increase capital for multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank (WB), to improve their financial conditions and enhance their financing capabilities. We also agree to provide more support for poverty reduction and development through financing tools, which based on respecting the policies, philosophies, and actual demands of all parties. According to the principle of giving due consideration to fairness, we will increase the shareholding and voting rights of emerging markets and developing countries in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), establish a third executive director seat for African countries, and fully consider the interests of the least developed countries in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocations.

5. We call for aligning with international initiatives and national plans to strengthen high-quality sustainable development bonds.

Within the frameworks of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union's Agenda 2063, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and others, we are committed to strengthen infrastructure connectivity and the free flow of production factors based on each country's national plans. We also promote the development of clean energy, information technology, aerospace, and other high-tech industries. We adhere to the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR) in addressing climate change and promoting green development.

6. We call for activating domestic development through effective markets and proactive governments. 

We advocate the advancement of efficient, incorruptible and law-based governance, optimizing macroeconomic regulation and public services to stimulate market vitality, as well as facilitating the industrialization and modernization of agriculture in Africa. Countries should enhance economic policy coordination and the alignment of different regulatory standards, further liberalize and facilitate trade and investment, protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, as well as guide and encourage new financing models such as public-private partnerships, investment-construction-operation integration, and loan-investment coordination to increase liquidity and efficiency of fund utilization.

7. We call for considering both traditional and non-traditional security threats to create a secure development environment. 

We appeal to value the legitimate security concerns of all countries, resolve conflicts through dialogue and consultation, and strive to avoid wars, conflicts, terrorism, diseases, or the pan-securitization “trap” that hinder development. We believe that the implementation of Global Security Initiative would contribute to achieving peace and security worldwide. Together, we urge the international community to resolve conflicts through rational and peaceful means and pay significant attention to the suffering of people affected by conflicts. As for the financial crisis, we encourage the effort to strengthen economic and financial security cooperation, open stable and smooth international settlement channels, and expand bilateral currency settlement and diverse foreign exchange reserves. We will also explore the establishment of a fair and objective international credit rating agency within the frameworks of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), BRICS, and other cooperative mechanisms. 

8. We call for encouraging the adoption of more practical and effective measures to promote knowledge sharing.

We jointly promote the implementation of Global Civilization Initiative and deepen exchanges and mutual learning between China and Africa. To this end, we advocate and encourage the establishment of a close-knit network of think tank alliances and the strengthening of exchanges and cooperation among media and think tanks. We aim to promote the high-quality development of China-Africa Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism, strengthen exchanges in education, science and technology, health, culture and arts, as well as implement the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development, thus to cultivate high qualified human resources, to deepen exchanges and cooperation in the Global South, and to amplify our voice in global affairs.