Many African leaders are now arriving in Beijing for the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Relations, themed “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.”

Tomorrow, September 3, we will host a panel discussion and Q&A session featuring young African scholars Abdou Rahim Lema, NAMASOLE JACKLINE, Richard Mbayo, and Gideon Wafule (moderated by Joel Odota), who will provide insights into this year’s FOCAC and the critical issues at play given the recent shifts in global geopolitics.

In Nigeria, for example, protests over economic hardships have rocked the nation (Nigerian President Tinubu flew to Beijing earlier on an official visit amid the protests back home). Meanwhile, the war in Sudan continues to drag on, and the military juntas in West Africa, having severed ties with the West, are increasingly looking to Russia and China for assistance.

China remains Africa’s largest trading partner and bilateral lender, mostly through the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

However, China itself faces challenges, including rising youth unemployment and a real estate sector teetering on the brink of collapse. Security tensions are escalating in the South China Sea and the broader Indo-Pacific region. The war in Ukraine has reached a critical point, causing global concern, while new conflicts are emerging in West Asia, with the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza and the involvement of Houthi rebels in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon threatening global trade.

Consequently, even the BRI has undergone major reconfigurations in recent years, both in form and size, leading to debates about its future.

While the 8th FOCAC, held in Dakar, Senegal, in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, was considered one of the most challenging, expectations for this year’s FOCAC are even higher, given the recent geopolitical developments in Africa, China, and its immediate neighborhood.

If interested, please sign up here now to receive a link to join the session at 18:00 EST on September 3 ( https://lnkd.in/gDmaM_Kv)