The annual Summer Davos Meeting was held in the Chinese northern port of Dalian from July 1 to 3. The theme was Leadership 4.0, succeeding in a New Era of Globalization. The Summer Davos is a meeting held annually in China, attended by what the organizers refer to as Global Growth Companies, mostly from emerging economies such as China, India, Russia, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and fast growing companies from developed countries.
During this year’s Summer Davos, China officially launched a new one billion dollar Belt and Road Africa Fund (BRAF), to be headed by the South African businessman Iqbal Surve, the former chairperson of the BRICS Business Council for South Africa. The fund will serve as a ‘cooperation platform’ for businesses from China and Africa and will focus on ‘investments in Africa, which will include co-investments in infrastructure, technology, eCommerce, artificial intelligence (AI) and the beneficiation of the resource industry in Africa.’ The fund will announce its more detailed plans for investment in September [US$ 1 Billion Belt & Road Africa Fund Launched].
Africa is feeling optimistic. After 17 years of tough negotiations, the African Union has in the past week ratified and started operationalizing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which commits countries in this continent to cut 90% of all tariffs in intra-African trade. It is aimed at reducing barriers to trade. And this fund comes in against the backdrop of China-Africa trade increasing by 30% in the last two years. The strategic logic of the fund is to increase the infrastructure connectivity that facilitates trade even further to increase the volume of trade. Recent tensions between Western nations and China are all the more reason why China is paying serious heed to Africa to diversify its economic geography.
M. Forough
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