Thinking About Our Current Strategy For African Economic Diplomacy

Economic diplomacy refers to diplomatic policy or action to be taken by sovereign states and their representative agencies or personnel through economic means for realizing economic goals or non-economic goals. As the economic globalization prevails, economic diplomacy has attracted increasing attention and become an important component of diplomatic activities of governments worldwide, giving impetus to the development of economic and trade relations among different countries. The economic diplomacy of China is characterized by distinctive features and remarkable achievements. Over the past 50 years, China's economic diplomacy to Africa has scored a great success and played an essential role in consolidating and developing Sino-African friendly cooperative relations. From the strategic perspective, economic diplomacy is deemed to be a major instrument at the present stage for China to realize its peaceful rise and to develop its foreign relations with other countries. China and Africa are cooperative partners that are complementary to each other's advantages and benefited mutually for two-win. The two sides share the same goal compatible with their own respective interests, that is, to gain their common development by expanding cooperation areas and seeking diversified cooperative patterns. Under the new historical condition, Sino-African friendly cooperative relations may also encounter some new problems and challenges. We must deal with them in a proper way by taking a far-sighted attitude so as to keep the said relations on a healthy track. China and African countries should make continuous joint efforts and bring it into full play the positive influence of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum. On the basis of equality and mutual benefits, diversified ways on cooperation, pursuing practical results and seeking common development, China should take concrete steps and effective measures to further promote all-round development of Sino-African friendly cooperation within a boarder range, in larger areas and at a higher level. In this aspect, the economic diplomacy will definitely play an irreplaceable role.This paper mainly includes three chapters, taking the subject of China's economic diplomacy to Africa as the axis for detailed study. The first chapter discusses the definition and concept of economic diplomacy as well as the overall situation of China's economic diplomacy, including the theoretical support of economic diplomacy, the interaction between economic diplomacy and overall diplomacy, China's economic diplomacy and its principles, status, objectives, characteristics and focus. The second chapter recalls the history and fruitful results of Sino-African economic exchanges, in particular, those achievements of the past 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides, and tries to interpret the current Sino-African economic and trade cooperation and its huge potentials from the perspective of economic diplomacy, indicating the great significance of economic diplomacy in strengthening existing Sino-African friendly cooperative relations under the new historical condition. In the third chapter, the paper tries to analyze the possible new problems and challenges that may come up in course of Sino-African friendly cooperation in the foreseeable future, and put forward with the counter-proposals and suggestions on consolidating and developing Sino-African friendly relations and cooperation through economic diplomacy. Finally, it concludes with a brief summary of the paper by giving an outlook on Sino-African friendly relations and cooperation, pointing out that whilst following the principles of mutual benefits for two-win and the rules of economic development such a cooperative relation is bound to yield more fruitful results in the new century.