Héribert-Label Elisée ADJOVI / Special correspondent in Xi'an
Implementation of the six modernisation objectives and ten strategic partnership actions between China and Africa, as announced at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit, FOCAC 2024. This was the objective for which fifty (50) African experts were in Shaanxi. Mission accomplished on the evening of Wednesday 23 July 2025.
Fifty African countries were represented, with one representative per country, at the seminar on ‘Chinese-style modernisation and the development of Africa’. Organised by the Secretariat of the Chinese Commission for the Follow-up of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Yangling Demonstration Zone International Exchange Centre, this seminar was held from 17 to 24 July 2025 in Shaanxi Province, in north-central China, specifically in the cities of Yangling and Xi'an, the provincial capital and former imperial capital of China. University professors, research institute directors and think tank presidents attended a series of lectures and visited sites where China's new era of modernisation is being realised.
An opening ceremony that sets the scene
The delegation of 50 experts from as many African countries in Yangling received a prestigious and warm welcome. A welcome befitting their status and in the pure tradition of Chinese hospitality, on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 July 2025. The following morning, Friday 18 July, the official opening ceremony of the seminar took place in the Jiao Jia Hall on the ground floor of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Modern Agriculture Exchange Centre. Four speeches marked the event. In his opening address, Mr Xue Bing, Special Envoy of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Horn of Africa, praised the Ministry's Department of African Affairs, sponsor of the event, as well as the Shaanxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office and the Yangling High-Tech Demonstration Zone Management Committee, executive organisers, for holding the seminar. "Twenty-five years after its creation, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has become a model of solidarity and cooperation in the Global South. In his speech at the 9th FOCAC in September 2024 in Beijing, President Xi Jinping announced the six major objectives and ten strategic partnership actions that constitute a clear commitment by China and Africa to build a community with a shared future together." In 2025, Xue Bing continues, "trade between China and Africa reached a new record high, exceeding $300 billion. In addition, China has invested more than 13.3 billion yuan—approximately $1.9 billion—and provided more than 150 billion yuan—approximately $21.5 billion—in financial support to Africa in various forms. " The importance of China-Africa relations was highlighted at the FOCAC ministerial meeting held in China's Hunan province on 11 June 2025, which was endorsed by the Changsha China-Africa Declaration on Preserving Global South Solidarity and Cooperation. This seminar, said Xue Bing, ‘is an opportunity to deepen China-Africa cooperation with you, the fifty experts from fifty African countries, in Shaanxi, the starting point of the Silk Road and whose capital, Xi'an, is the cradle of Chinese civilisation. Following him, He Ling, Permanent Member of the Yangling Demonstration Zone Management Committee, and Gao Jinxiao, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government, celebrated Sino-African cooperation, particularly in the development of modern agriculture, which is experiencing a golden age in the Yangling pilot region. Yangling and its agricultural demonstration centre, which has already offered more than 160 training courses on 20 subjects to 2,000 students. Yangling also hosts an agricultural fair, which for the past 30 years has showcased the latest technologies in the sector and attracted more than 3,000 exhibitors from some 40 countries and regions around the world. This has earned it the coveted name of ‘Olympics of Agriculture’. This has enhanced the prestigious image of Shaanxi, the home province of President Xi Jinping. On behalf of the seminar participants, Mustapha Saheed, Senior Lecturer at the University of Abuja in Nigeria, thanked the Chinese side for the invitation to this seminar and expressed the hope that, at the end of the Shaanxi meeting, ‘the 50 experts will become ambassadors and bridges for Sino-African cooperation.’
Field visits to see Chinese-style modernisation in action In addition to the opening address and panel discussions, the 50 African experts attending the seminar on ‘Chinese-style modernisation and African development’ visited sites in Shaanxi Province that are examples of Chinese-style modernisation.
In Yangling, we visited the Exhibition Hall of the Yangling Demonstration Zone. It plays a central role in promoting modern agriculture and international cooperation. We also visited the Yangling Smart Agriculture Demonstration Park, which consists of the Smart Control Centre and the Plant Factory. It is a futuristic showcase for high-tech agriculture. It embodies the fusion of agricultural tradition and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data and 5G. The visit to the Seed Industry Innovation Centre in the Yangling Demonstration Zone gave seminar participants a close-up view of this strategic pillar of modern agricultural development in China. The centre plays a key role in the research, selection, production and distribution of high-quality seeds, which are essential for food security and agricultural productivity. The Yangling International Kiwi Innovation and Entrepreneurship Park, meanwhile, embodies the desire to make kiwis a flagship product of modern Chinese agriculture, while promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and international cooperation.
In Xi'an, the provincial capital, we visited the Xi'an Light Industry Market, which is part of a national drive to revive and modernise the sector in China. Although Xi'an is not the main centre of light industry like some coastal cities, it plays a strategic role in the integration of production, consumption and export of consumer goods. Xi'an is known as the ‘city that never sleeps’ of the Tang Dynasty. It is a must-see destination, much appreciated by luxury visitors such as ourselves. Particularly lively at night, with light shows, artistic performances and cultural activities, hence its name, the ‘City of the Great Tang that never sleeps’ had to endure, during the visit of African experts, African music and dance, much appreciated by the Chinese witnesses on site. The African experts also visited the ‘Terracotta Warriors of the Mausoleum of Qin Shinhuang’, one of the most impressive archaeological treasures in China and the world. Discovered in 1974 near Xi'an, these life-size statues—more than 8,000 soldiers, 180 chariots, and 670 horses—were created to accompany China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, into the afterlife.The visit to the community on Hongzhuan South Street exposed the seminarians to the Chinese approach to modernising the management of retirement homes for the elderly in China. We were able to play sports, dance and create art with these men and women who have given everything to China and to whom the nation and the Chinese Communist Party are providing a dignified retirement. At China Railway 20th Bureau Group Corporation, a subsidiary of the giant China Railway Construction Limited, which builds large-scale infrastructure and is ranked among the world's 500 largest companies, the seminarians enjoyed a Chinese success story.At Shaanxi Heavy Duty Truck Co., Ltd, we were able to see the exceptional chassis manufacturing process, which involves smart manufacturing and industrial modernisation. Finally, we visited Longi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd, one of the world leaders in solar energy. Founded in 2000, the company specialises in monocrystalline silicon-based photovoltaic products, with a strong focus on innovation and sustainability.
A seminar that ended on a high note Everything that has a beginning has an end. After watching the retrospective video of the seminar, it was time for the closing speeches of the Xi'an seminar on ‘Chinese-style modernisation and the development of Africa’. On behalf of the experts, Mr Steven Moussala Banzouzi, Advisor to the Congolese Prime Minister (for French speakers) and Mr Joseph Simbakalia, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tanzanian Energy Engineering and Manufacturing Organisation (for English speakers) first thanked the seminar's organising team for welcoming the participants and for the logistics put in place to make our stay in Shaanxi Province enjoyable. They then congratulated the professors who took the time to give us lectures over the course of a week, as well as the managers of the various facilities we visited for allowing us to experience Chinese-style modernisation in the historic province of Shaanxi. The richness and depth of these teachings were appreciated by all. The content and details provided during these lectures were commensurate with the calibre of the seminar participants and a credit to the distinguished Chinese professors. As seminar participants, we leave Xi'an better equipped to play our role as ambassadors of the China-Africa strategic partnership. Steven Moussala Banzouzi, Advisor to the Congolese Prime Minister, and Joseph Simbakalia, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tanzanian Energy Engineering and Manufacturing Organisation, were keen to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which has already become a model of cooperation for the Global South and a benchmark for building a community with a shared future for humanity. In light of the discussions throughout our stay, they strongly recommended to the Chinese side that the momentum of China-Africa People's Cooperation be strengthened and that Chinese initiatives aimed at industrialisation, agricultural mechanisation, green energy and digital energy in Africa be accelerated.With this in mind, we want to play our part, says Steven Moussala Banzouzi, Advisor to the Congolese Prime Minister: "Africa is ready. It is not turning in on itself. It wants to contribute fully to a more humane, fairer and more balanced world. It is up to us to turn the promises made at this seminar into concrete action. It is up to us to build, together, the cooperation that our peoples expect." In response, Ma Jin, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Yangling Demonstration Zone and Deputy Executive Director of the Agricultural Base Office of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, thanked the seminar participants for the week spent in Shaanxi Province. "The high-level exchanges during the conferences and your pertinent questions during the visits to the cities of Yangling and Xi'an are matched only by your level of commitment to the development of your respective countries. You prove to us, if proof were still needed, that Africa has men and women who are aware of the challenges of its development and equipped to build a better future for posterity. Following the representatives of the experts, she expressed her hope that the flame lit in Shaanxi would not be extinguished and that a framework for following up on this seminar would be put in place. The family photo and the final banquet brought the Xi'an seminar to a close.