In Line With Integration

CHINA will maintain an annual economic growth of above 6.5 percent during the 13th Five-Year Plan period （2016-20）， realize the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects， and double its GDP and per-capita income from what they were in 2010.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said this while delivering the Government Work Report during the opening of the Fourth Session of the 12th National Peoples Congress in Beijing on March 5.

To ensure a good start to the 13th Five-Year Plan， Li proposed eight major tasks this year.

They include stepping up efforts to implement the Belt and Road Initiative， expanding international industrial cooperation， and supporting the export of Chinese equipment， technology， standards and services.

Opening up， innovation， as well as coordinated， green and shared development are to be highlighted in the new period. Supplyside structural reform and strategies to promote agriculture modernization and the Internet economy will give new vitality and bring new opportunities to China-Africa cooperation.

Allied to African development China has made the Belt and Road Initiative part of its latest five-year plan to create a new opening-up pattern toward both the East and the West.

As a plan for international economic cooperation and mutual development， the Belt and Road Initiative aims at consolidating economic development in Asia， Europe and Africa.

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road will connect the three by sea and then integrate with the Silk Road Economic Belt， which is an upgraded version of the ancient overland trade route connecting the three regions.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tanzania， South Africa and the Republic of the Congo in 2013， several cooperation deals were signed. During his Africa visit in 2014， Li made commitments to help Africa build railway， expressway and airline networks.

And at the Johannesburg Sum- mit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation （FOCAC） in December， Xi pledged 10 major plans to boost China-Africa cooperation.

China seeks to promote SinoAfrican traffic connectivity and to realize integration in two areas： integrating Chinas industrial restructuring with African industrialization， and synchronizing the Belt and Road Initiative with Africas development strategies.

Helping Africas infrastructure construction and promoting traffic connectivity is creating conditions for integration.

Poor infrastructure has been restraining the development of African economies. Problems like insufficient transportation facilities or power shortages not only lead to high cost of domestic and regional trade but also prevent foreign investment.

Like the “Chinese Dream” of national rejuvenation， African people also cherish the “African Aspiration”of poverty reduction and self-development. Better connectivity and industrialization are the only way to achieve this dream. To make the 21st century the period of Africas rapid development through industrialization and economic and regional integration， the African Union （AU） has adopted a series of plans. Starting with the New Partnership for Africas Development in 2001， they include the Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa action plan in 2008， and in 2013， the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa as well as Agenda 2063. In this sense， Chinas Belt and Road Initiative echoes Africas development strategies in the 21st century. It will inject new momentum into the sustainable development of China-Africa relations and explore a new pattern of South-South cooperation.

Positive response Integration in these two areas has received positive responses from African countries. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi showed support for Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and willingness to push forward bilateral cooperation in all areas with China during his visit to China at the end of 2014. He said to meet the economic challenges facing his country， the priority was to develop infrastructure. In January 2016， when Xi visited Egypt， the two sides signed a memorandum to jointly promote the Belt and Road Initiative and signed deals to boost cooperation in areas including power supply， infrastructure construction， trade， energy， finance， and aviation.

Starting with cooperation in infrastructure construction and industrial capacity， China will help Egypt become a key nation along the Silk Road Economic Belt.

The AU and China signed a memorandum of understanding in January to cooperate in major infrastructure networks and Africas industrialization.

According to the agreement， Chi- na will strengthen cooperation with Africa in railways， highways， aviation and industrialization to accelerate the continents integration within the framework of Agenda 2063. Chinese companies are already building railways， airports， industrial parks and harbors in countries like Ethiopia， Djibouti， Kenya and Nigeria.

Deepening China-Africa ties After high-speed growth for 30 years， Chinas economy has entered a new phase， referred to as the“new normal.” It is characterized by mid- to high-growth with economic restructuring and addressing excess manufacturing capacity.

Ahead of the Johannesburg Summit of the FOCAC， pessimists in the international community had predicted that China would be unlikely to pledge new significant assistance to Africa， considering its own economic slowdown. Concluded deals could also be affected， detractors said.

However， China rolled out 10 major plans to boost China-Africa cooperation， committing $60 billion of funding support. This not only demonstrates Chinas determination to promote Africas development but also satisfies the needs of ChinaAfrica trade relations in the new era.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period， China will continue its winwin cooperation and opening-up policy， participate in global economic governance and offer public goods services.

Specifically， it will reinforce efforts to speed up international cooperation in industrial capacity and equipment manufacturing， as well as boost overseas investments and cultural exchanges under the Belt and Road Initiative.

China will undertake its responsibilities and obligations to expand foreign assistance and improve the mode of assistance. It will offer more free training in human resources and advice on development strategies and economic policies.

It will increase assistance in technology， education， medical care， disaster management， environment and wildlife protection and poverty reduction.

All of these will bring concrete benefits to African countries.

Predictably， trans-national and trans-regional infrastructure projects and projects boosting Africas manufacturing sector will spearhead China-Africa cooperation. Apart from Chinese state-owned enterprises， more and more Chinese private businesses， with their rich experience and advanced technology in light industries， will join in industrial cooperation.

China-Africa industrial cooperation is already achieving results. For instance， Tanzania signed a draft deal with Chinas National Development and Reform Commission on April 28， 2015 to expand cooperation in industrial capacity， becoming one of the first African countries to respond to Chinas initiative to strengthen international industrial cooperation.

Abundant opportunities The core of Tanzanias current fiveyear plan is also industrialization， presenting China with abundant opportunities.

Tanzania has been building an industrial zone to process export products and boost its exportoriented sectors. It is also meant to absorb foreign investment， stimulate employment and raise technology and management levels. To date， 12 Chinese firms have invested in the zone.

Against the backdrop of the international economic order undergoing profound changes， Chinas economy and China-Africa trade cooperation face important challenges like the need for structural upgrades.

Only by overcoming these challenges can the bilateral relations be further deepened and injected with new vitality. CA