The New Situation of Africa’s Autonomous Development: Causes and Prospects

Since 2020， Africa’s turbulence has increased due to the impact of the factors of COVID-19 pandemic， the Ukraine crisis， and major countries’ pursuit of interests in Africa. Under the leadership of the African Union （AU） and African subregional organizations， efforts have been made to cope with various types of crises， so we see a new situation of autonomous development in political， economic and diplomatic fields. Observing and understanding this new situation， analyzing its causes and accurately envision its prospects will not only help us to better understand Africa’s overall demands for development and the evolution of its relations with major countries， but also help us to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

New Situation of Africa’s autonomous development

I. The AU Endeavors to Maintain the Overall Situation of Africa’s Peaceful Development in an African Way

First， the AU has responded to the resurgence of military coups. It has intervened decisively in the military coups in countries such as Mali， Niger， Guinea， Burkina Faso， and deterred unconstitutional regimes through sanctions， suspension of AU membership and other tough means. Second， the AU mediated in regional security disputes. It has actively mediated in the internal conflict in Ethiopia and the dispute over the Renaissance Dam among the three Nile countries by calling on the countries concerned not to jeopardize the process to resolve the conflicts or complicate the negotiations. It has tried to make the parties concerned to reach a peace and reconciliation agreement. The AU， together with the East African Community， the Southern African Development Community and other subregional organizations， has intervened in the peace processes in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the northern part of Mozambique through the African approach， and has achieved positive results， demonstrating its leadership on the continent. Third， the AU has made innovations in its norms and mechanisms. It has actively responded to non-traditional security issues such as terrorism and piracy. For this purpose， it has improved its institutional framework， promoted cooperation between African countries and the United Nations and the European Union， and formulated relevant framework and guiding documents or resolutions.

II. Face Up to the Challenges to Sustainable Socio-Economic Development through Unity by Empowerment

First， the construction of African Continental Free Trade Area （AfCFTA） has been accelerated to pave the way for industrialization. Since the launch of the AfCFTA， the Adjustment Fund and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System have been introduced one after another， and seven countries， including Cameroon， Egypt， Ghana， Kenya and Mauritius， have been selected as pilot countries for free trade， harnessing the regional resources and the markets and pushing forward economic integration. Second， Africa’s control over key minerals has been enhanced. Since 2021， 15 resource-abundant African countries have successively adjusted their mining policies by applying measures such as establishing state-owned mining companies， re-examining mining contracts， increasing localization and environmental protection requirements. They speed up in forming the downstream industrial chains and regional mining value chains， and make more clear-cut demands for value-adding and rebalancing of profits in mining. Third， African countries are vigorously developing digital economies to realize curve overtaking. Not only has the AU called for digital transformation to be placed among the top priorities of the AU Agenda 2063， but more than 40 African countries have formulated digital economy strategies or policies， striving to make the development of the digital economy the new engine for economic growth of the whole Africa. Fourth， Africa has made progress in promoting the major countries to assume the historical responsibility for tackling climate change. The AU has successively launched the Africa Green Recovery Action Plan and the Strategy and Action Plan on Climate Change and Resilient Development （2022-2032）， urging the Western developed countries to increase their support for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Africa so as to enhance Africa’s ability to realize climate resilience and climate-smart development. At the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change hosted by Egypt， Africa contributed to the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund. Fifth， a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the first decade （2014-2023） of planning for Agenda 2063 was conducted to lay a good foundation of planning for the second decade （2024-2033）.

III. Expressing Common Position with One Voice on the International Stage

First， Africa has actively participated in multilateral diplomacy to enhance its power of discourse in global governance. The AU has actively promoted UN Security Council reform， aiming to have a veto seat belonging to Africa; it also seeks for the membership of the G20. Second， it has unified its voice in cooperation with the EU， striving for the development of a genuine partnership of equals with Europe. Africa performed strongly in the negotiations of the Post-Cotonou Agreement， and finally realized the expected goal of signing a separate African regional agreement with the EU; in the 6th Europe-Africa Summit and consultations on related issues， African countries made strong and well-grounded argument， and had achievements on trade， investment， public health， peace and security， and migration. Third， they have adhered to the spirit of non-alignment by refusing to take sides in the Ukraine crisis， and organized a delegation to visit Russia and Ukraine to advocate negotiation and promote peace， thus demonstrating Africa’s influence in the resolution of international hotspot issues.

IV. Taking Balanced Positions Amidst the Game of Major Powers

First， African countries have maintained an unbiased position on the Ukraine crisis. So far， none of the African countries has participated in the sanctions against Russia， nor does the AU use sensitive words as “condemnation” and “aggression” in relevant communiqués. In the two votes related to the Ukraine issue in the United Nations General Assembly， the number of African countries that voted in favor of the resolution and the number of African countries that abstained or did not vote are almost the same. Second， African countries have high expectations for both the U.S.-Africa Summit and the Russia-Africa Summit， and are eager for both countries to increase their commitment. In mid-December 2022， the AU and 49 African countries sent delegations to the second U.S.-Africa Summit， and received a commitment from the U.S. government that it would provide Africa with $55 billion over the next three years. At the end of July 2023， delegations from 49 African countries， including 17 African heads of state， attended the second Russia-Africa Summit. They made urgent demands to Russia for food security， defense and security. Besides， they reaffirmed fairness of the multilateral forums， as well as ways to interface with AU Agenda 2063 and measures to realize the action plans.