COVID-19 Conflict & Resilience Monitor – 8 September 2021

The Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will convene for the 8th time this year in Dakar, Senegal. The triennial summit has since become a major event in global politics since its inaugural meeting in 2000 as it sets the tone for Sino-African relations. The FOCAC is an opportunity for comprehensive engagement on the relations between the two parties focusing on such important issues as the economy, geopolitical relations, education, media, people-to-people, military among other areas of cooperation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities for China to cement its engagements in Africa. Chinese diplomats have cast Beijing’s medical assistance as an example of “friendship,” “sincerity,” and above all, “solidarity,” or tuánjié [团结] to answer what they view as Western campaigns to “smear China.”Expressions of tuánjié (solidarity) also flowed in the other direction, however. At least 30 African nations sent financial and material assistance to China—initiatives that largely went unnoticed.

Transition, in the context of politics, is defined as the end, extension or transfer of power from one leader to another. History shows that political transitions can either accelerate or reverse development outcomes, depending on how they are managed. Africa is experiencing ongoing political transition: whether demanded by citizens; or manifested through the actions of political elites effecting change. Transition could occur in non-conflict, conflict, and post-conflict settings.   But what is the quality of Africa’s transitions, and how best can they be supported to enable positive long-term outcomes?