At a recent high-level seminar on the “Africa-China Dar es Salaam Consensus,” academics agreed that the consensus would provide new development ideas, visions, and pathways for countries in the Global South.

Held on June 7 in Beijing, the seminar gathered nearly 50 scholars and experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, and the Center for International Knowledge on Development, among other institutions. Participants conducted in-depth discussions on enriching the connotation and scope of the consensus, promoting it globally, and translating it into collective international action.

The “Africa-China Dar es Salaam Consensus” was jointly issued by scholars from think tanks representing 50 countries in China and Africa at the 13th meeting of the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on March 8, 2024.

Chairing the seminar, Liu Hongwu, director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU), noted that 2024, when the consensus was reached, coincides with several significant anniversaries. It marks the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, a major contribution by Asian and African countries to international relations norms. It also commemorates the 60th anniversary of Premier Zhou Enlai’s visit to Africa, during which he announced the eight principles for China’s economic aid and technical assistance to other countries, and the 50th anniversary of Chairman Mao Zedong’s “Three Worlds” theory. Moreover, the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is set to take place this autumn.

Liu stressed that over the past 70 years, China-Africa cooperation has become a benchmark for South-South cooperation in the new era. He highlighted the shared goals of Global South countries in pursuing national independence, rejuvenation, and modernization in socio-economic development.

Liu added that this consensus, released in five languages, calls for the international community to enhance development cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect, solidarity, cooperation, openness, mutual benefit, and common prosperity. The objective is to jointly achieve modernization and build a global community of shared future.

Xu Bu, former president of the China Institute of International Studies and chair of the Academic Committee of the Faculty of African Area and Country Studies at ZJNU, said that development is a universal demand that resonates widely and deeply across the world. He underscored how the consensus reflects the shared aspirations of the Global South and aligns with current international trends.

Participants at the seminar agreed that the consensus is rooted in practical China-Africa cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, economic and trade exchanges, and cultural interactions. Focusing on development, the consensus outlines principles, priorities, and major concerns for the new era. It demonstrates the increased autonomy and developmental capacity of Global South countries in international affairs, along with their collaborative approach to addressing common challenges in national development and global governance.

They also pointed out that the consensus is dynamic and open. With the deepening of related practices, its connotations require further improvement and optimization to properly address the basic relationships between continuity and reform, long-term and short-term interests, development and preservation, and more. In addition, they called for effective dissemination of the consensus and encouraged participating countries to drive cooperation on development action through collaboration on development knowledge, thereby applying principles of the consensus to the implementation of policy-level action plans and projects.

The seminar was co-hosted by the Institute of African Studies at ZJNU and the CIECC (China International Engineering Consulting Corporation) Academy of Strategic Studies, a non-profit research organization aiming to serve the CPC and the country’s scientific and democratic decision-making.

Correspondent Shan Min is from the Institute of African Studies at ZJNU.