focac agenda

China/Africa: What is likely to be on the FOCAC agenda?

By Eric Olander

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Posted on October 16, 2021 16:00

JAPAN-OSAKA-XI JINPING-CHINA-AFRICA-LEADERS-MEETING © Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs a China-Africa leaders’ meeting in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs a China-Africa leaders’ meeting in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

It is possible to make informed guesses about the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit agenda based on current trends.

With everything surrounding the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit shrouded in secrecy and uncertainty, previewing what will happen at the Dakar event is admittedly a risky undertaking. So, these predictions are suggestive at best, given how much hearsay is swirling around the summit.

That said, we can make some informed guesses about the agenda based on current trends and feedback from those who have firsthand knowledge of pre-summit negotiations.

READ MORE Africa should negotiate collectively with China at FOCAC, but that’s not going to happen

First, sources in Senegal report that the event is scheduled to be held on Sunday 28 November and Monday 29 November. At this point, there’s no confirmation that President Xi Jinping will attend in person, and given that he recently backed out of going to Rome for the G20 summit in late October, and opted for a virtual summit with US President Joe Biden, it seems improbable that he would make Senegal his first overseas

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