CASS President Gao Xiang addresses the opening ceremony of the First West Africa Forum, which was held in Dakar, capital of Senegal, on April 23. Photo: Wang Zhou/CSSN
DAKAR—On April 23, the First West Africa Forum was successfully held in Dakar, capital of Senegal, under the theme “China and West Africa: Working Together to Promote Modernization.” The event brought together renowned experts, scholars, government officials, diplomatic envoys, and journalists from China and Africa.
Before the opening ceremony, Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), held productive talks with Ibrahima Gueye, director of the Cabinet of the Senegalese Prime Minister, and Mor Fall, director general of Senegal’s National School of Administration (école nationale d’administration, ENA). During the meeting, the China-Africa Institute (CAI) at CASS and the ENA signed a joint statement on the co-establishment of a China-Africa Research Center, marking a significant step forward in China-Africa think tank cooperation.
In his address at the opening ceremony, Gao emphasized that President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to think tank cooperation between China and Africa and places a high value on scholarly exchanges. In August 2024, President Xi Jinping called for intellectual support for building a high-level China-Africa community with a shard future and safeguarding the common interests of the Global South in his reply to scholars from 50 African countries. Gao stressed the irreplaceable role of think tanks in facilitating mutual learning between Chinese and African civilizations and in deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership. He noted that the First West Africa Forum was organized to implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s reply to African scholars and to better mobilize academic resources from both sides in support of joint development for the Global South and the construction of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
Gao further pointed out that the world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with major shifts in the balance of international power, and that global instability and uncertainty are on the rise. He stressed that the collective rise of the Global South—of which China and African nations are key members—is propelling the international order toward greater fairness and justice, contributing to world peace and development, and injecting strong momentum into the advancement of equity and justice for humanity.
He highlighted that the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in Beijing elevated the China-Africa relationship to an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era, symbolizing a new level of cooperation. China and Africa are working together to create a new framework of collaboration, synergizing Chinese modernization with Africa’s path of independent development. Chinese modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all, marked by the eradication of absolute poverty; of harmony between humanity and nature, with continuous environmental improvements; and of material and cultural-ethical advancement, seeking to improve the people’s education level and cultural qualities comprehensively. Gao expressed China’s willingness to share its modernization experience with Africa to build a community with a shared future and underscored the growing significance of think tank exchanges in this endeavor.
Gao offered four proposals to strengthen China-Africa think tank cooperation: promoting institutional innovation to deepen dialogue; enhancing joint research to provide valuable policy advice; reinforcing strategic coordination to counter Western discourse dominance; and intensifying talent cultivation to consolidate the foundation for cooperation. He expressed the CAI’s readiness to deepen partnerships with think tanks such as the ENA to jointly advance modernization efforts and realize the vision of building a community with a shared future. Gao emphasized that the signing of the joint statement to establish the China-Africa Research Center is an important milestone for promoting academic exchange, think tank dialogue, and people-to-people ties.
He also noted that CASS is leading the compilation of a new general history of Africa, aiming to present Africa’s rich historical and cultural legacy and modernization achievements through rigorous academic research, thereby restoring Africa’s authentic history to its people and the world.
Also addressing the opening ceremony, Li Yan, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Senegal, remarked that the successful 2024 FOCAC Summit, where African and Chinese leaders gathered in Beijing, created a “Global South Moment” in building a human community with a shared future. During the summit’s opening ceremony, President Xi Jinping solemnly announced the “Ten Partnership Actions” for joint modernization, with the “Partnership Action for Mutual Learning among Civilizations” placed first to establish a platform for exchanging governance experience. Li noted that the establishment of the China-Africa Research Center will undoubtedly spark a new wave of mutual learning between China and Africa.
Against this backdrop, Li said, the convening of the First West Africa Forum was both timely and significant. It not only provides a crucial platform for strengthening dialogue and mutual understanding between China and West African countries, but also serves as a key step toward implementing the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and advancing the construction of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era. She emphasized West Africa’s growing importance as a driver of African development and its increasing role in regional and international affairs.
Li brought forth three initiatives: jointly advance the building of the all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era; collaboratively forge a “Global South Path” for modernization; and support the implementation of China’s three global initiatives—the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative—to take root and flourish in West African countries. She expressed hope that the forum would serve as a pivotal starting point for China and Africa to advance friendly bilateral cooperation, fostering new achievements in their partnership. This collaboration will strengthen the all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, promote mutual modernization goals, and contribute significantly to global peace and development.
Speaking on behalf of the Senegalese Prime Minister, Ibrahima Gueye extended warm congratulations on the successful opening of the forum. He highlighted the critical opportunities emerging in China-West Africa cooperation and stressed the importance of drawing lessons from China’s modernization experience for Senegal’s ongoing efforts to advance systemic reforms and strengthen national governance capacity. Noting CASS’s stature as China’s premier comprehensive think tank with systematic research achievements in key fields of the humanities and social sciences, Gueye expressed Senegal’s eagerness to expand academic exchanges and joint research with CASS to support West Africa’s development. Gueye also pointed out that the demonstration model of cooperative development established at this forum could serve as a replicable template for similar cooperation involving more African countries and institutions. To amplify its impact, he recommended enhancing multi-dimensional publicity to better present the achievements of China-Africa cooperation to African nations and the broader international community.
Looking ahead, he proposed establishing long-term cooperation mechanisms to deepen collaboration in areas such as culture, development, and security; expanding people-to-people exchanges and practical cooperation in education, technology, and vocational training; and building a systematic, institutionalized cooperation framework as a model for the China-Africa community with a shared future to inject new momentum into the consolidation of this vision.
Mor Fall affirmed that the signing of the joint statement between the ENA and the CAI marked a new phase in China-Africa think tank collaboration. He praised China’s consistent respect for African sovereignty and its support for Africa’s development aspirations and cultural advancement. A robust China-Africa partnership can not only promote mutual progress but also contribute positively to global peace and security, deepening the time-honored historical and cultural bonds between the two sides. Looking to the future, he anticipated strengthened comprehensive cooperation with China, including technological exchanges and people-to-people interactions, to propel China-Africa relations to new heights by consolidating South-South cooperation mechanisms and deepening mutual trust.
The forum was co-organized by the CAI and the ENA. It featured two parallel sessions: “China and West Africa: Working Together to Promote Modernization” and “Three Global Initiatives and the Development of West Africa.” Following the opening ceremony, Gao presented the ENA with the French edition of the first four volumes of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China on behalf of CASS.