The past month has been a busy time for Chinese diplomacy in Africa, with senior officials making dozens of trips to the continent to resolve disputes, strengthen relations and respond to a recent Western charm offensive.
In a meeting with Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye on Wednesday, the Chinese government’s special representative on African affairs, Xu Jinghu, promised China would continue to strengthen bilateral relations with the East African nation in priority sectors such as agriculture, health and infrastructure.
Ndayishimiye said China had “stood by our side for years, especially in times of hardship”, and Xu said Beijing would always support Burundi’s economic and social development.
China has sent agricultural scientists to Burundi to help improve food production and has awarded scholarships to Burundian students.
On her eight-nation tour, Xu will also visit Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Namibia, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles.
She is visiting the continent a few days after senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi visited Zimbabwe and Mozambique. And last month, Wu Peng, director general of the foreign ministry’s African affairs department, visited South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo.
Also in June, China’s special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Xue Bing, was in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for the first Horn of Africa peace conference – which was sponsored by China.
Observers said the high-level trips aim to solve hotspot issues, especially ongoing conflicts in the Great Lakes, Horn of Africa and Sahel regions, and also to respond to the West’s challenge to the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa.
Zhou Yuyuan, a senior research fellow with the Centre for West Asian and African Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said the specific role of a special representative on African affairs is political mediation.
“I think one of its important missions is to explore China’s contribution to solving the hotspot issues in Africa,” he said. “The relations among the countries in the Great Lakes region are not in a good situation, with the relationship between the DRC and Rwanda especially tense.”
Rwanda and Congo have accused each other of firing rockets across their shared border. The Congolese authorities also alleged that Rwanda deployed soldiers in disguise on their territory.
“So, choosing the Great Lakes Region makes sense,” Zhou said. “Maybe the most important reason [is that] Xu is French-speaking – this means official visits to French-speaking countries will mostly rely on her.”
Tim Zajontz, a research fellow at the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, said Xu’s stop in Kinshasa can be seen as a sign of goodwill to iron out protracted disputes between Chinese mining firms and the Congolese government.
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Top Chinese diplomat tours East Africa to promote peace, ensure stability for belt and road allies
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