China News Service, Changsha, October 16th. Question: From zero tariffs to the "Year of People-to-People Exchanges", how can China and Africa provide a paradigm for global South-South cooperation?
——Exclusive interview with Edward Boateng, former Ambassador of Ghana to China
Author Zhao Qiang Liu Shuangshuang Tang Xiaoqing
In recent years, the global landscape has been profoundly reshaped, international cooperation has become more variable and uncertain. Against this background, China-Africa cooperation, which upholds the concepts of equality, mutual benefit, pragmatism and win-win, has steadily improved its quality. From cocoa-scented economic and trade connections to rising infrastructure landmarks, the in-depth cooperation between Ghana, known as the "Pearl of West Africa", and China has become a vivid epitome of the construction of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
2026 is not only the "Year of People-to-People Exchanges" between China and Africa, but also the first year for China to fully implement the zero-tariff policy with 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. China-Africa economic and trade exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations will usher in new opportunities. To this end, China News Service's "East-West Question" conducted an exclusive interview with Edward Boateng, a senior Ghanaian diplomat and former ambassador to China, to deeply interpret the core endogenous driving force for the steady and long-term development of China-Africa cooperation, and to explore the new development paradigm that China-Africa cooperation has established for global South-South cooperation.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: What is the core endogenous driving force of China-Africa cooperation?
Edward Boateng: The long-term stability and continuous deepening of China-Africa cooperation lies in the value consensus of equality and mutual trust, a highly consistent development vision, and an economic and trade pattern with complementary advantages. This is also the fundamental reason why China-Africa cooperation is different from other international cooperation.
Unlike some countries' foreign cooperation aimed at geopolitical competition and short-term profit harvesting, China-Africa cooperation always adheres to the bottom line of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Therefore, China-Africa cooperation can continue to advance based on the two sides’ common vision of pragmatic results, political mutual trust, and pursuit of modernization.
The driving force for China-Africa cooperation also lies in a common development vision, mutual respect and economic complementarity. Africa urgently needs infrastructure, industrialization, technology and investment, while China seeks stable markets, partners and global collaboration. The development needs of both parties are highly consistent and two-way adaptation. Taking Ghana as an example, relying on China-Africa cooperation over the years, it has continuously improved its transportation and power infrastructure, and is promoting the steady advancement of local industrialization transformation.
On August 16, 2026, a cargo ship carrying more than 500 machinery vehicles and complete sets of engineering and building materials set sail from Yantai Port, Shandong Port, to Ghana, Africa. The picture shows the crane loading and unloading large buses exported to Ghana. Published by China News Service and photographed by Tang Ke
China News Service reporter: What tangible changes has China-Africa cooperation brought to Africa?
Edward Boateng: Across Africa, people can personally feel the changes brought about by cooperation: roads, railways, ports, hospitals, schools, power projects, and digital connectivity continue to improve. Millions of people have access to more stable electricity, better medical and educational services, and greater market opportunities.
In addition to infrastructure construction, China's investment has created a large number of jobs, promoted skills cultivation, and assisted the development of the manufacturing industry, creating new opportunities for African entrepreneurs and farmers. Tracks such as specialty planting, cross-border trade, and small and micro enterprise entrepreneurship have continued to expand, activating the vitality of Africa's local economy.
For example, Ghanaian cocoa can now be shipped directly to China, which has greatly helped Ghanaian farmers get rid of poverty and become rich, and Ghanaian children have the opportunity to obtain better education. In May 2018, the Hunan Canada-China Cocoa International Trade Center was unveiled in Changsha. It is committed to building China's largest cocoa electronic trading platform and allowing Ghanaian cocoa to "go global" through Hunan. By permanently setting up the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in Hunan, Ghana can better help its cocoa to open up the Chinese market.
Thanks to the steady advancement of the "Belt and Road" construction, Ghana has been able to learn more from China's experience. More and more Africans are coming to China to work, study and travel, and more and more Chinese are entering Africa to engage in infrastructure construction. Ghana and China have had long-term friendly political cooperation and hope that the two sides will further strengthen cooperation and exchanges in economy, trade, agriculture, talent and other aspects to achieve common development, mutual benefit and win-win results.
On June 30, 2023, in Changsha, Hunan, Chinese businessmen visited the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Innovation Demonstration Park. Photo by China News Service reporter Cui Nan
Reporter from China News Service: How can cultural exchanges promote mutual learning?
Edward Boateng: People-to-people and cultural exchanges are the cornerstone of long-term partnerships. They can eliminate stereotypes, enhance mutual understanding, and transform diplomatic relations into people-to-people bonds. During my time in China, I witnessed a large number of vivid exchange results. China provided government scholarships and study abroad places for African countries, allowing thousands of African young people to come to China to learn advanced experience in industrial technology, agricultural planting, urban governance, digital economy, etc.
After these African students returned to their countries after completing their studies, they became envoys serving as a bridge for China-Africa cooperation. They carry out technology promotion and cultural exchanges locally to help more African young people understand China. African youths with a thirst for knowledge and Chinese youths respect each other, cooperate friendly, become friends with each other, and establish a solid friendship.
Africa's unique culture, customs and customs have entered the Chinese public's horizons. Chinese universities and private institutions have also continued to enter Africa and carry out academic exchanges, cultural tours, and youth networking activities. China's traditional culture and innovative development concepts have become well known to the African people. This two-way, normalized exchange between people and young people transforms the strategic friendly relationship at the government level into the heartfelt recognition and trust of the people of both sides.
People-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Africa have always adhered to the concepts of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and mutual benefit and symbiosis, constantly consolidating the public opinion foundation of a China-Africa community with a shared future, and giving China-Africa friendly relations a steady stream of intrinsic vitality.
On April 27, 2025, Tsinghua University Art Museum held a public education event in Beijing with the theme of African music and dance art. The picture shows the actors and the audience dancing together. Photo by China News Service reporter Yi Haifei
China News Service reporter: How will China’s zero-tariff policy benefit Africa? What role can Hunan play?
Edward Boateng: The zero-tariff policy creates historic opportunities for Africa and helps Africa shift from exporting primary raw materials to high-value-added agricultural product processing industries.
Taking Ghana as an example, the cocoa processing and cashew processing industries have relied on the zero-tariff policy to significantly expand the scale of exports to China. They have shifted from exporting raw cocoa raw materials to exporting high value-added products such as chocolate and refined cocoa powder, which has greatly improved industrial profits and economic benefits. Of course, to fully unleash the policy dividends, African countries need to take the initiative and continue to invest in product deep processing, international quality standard docking, cross-border supply chain construction, brand building, etc., and improve the industrial supporting system, so that they can truly take root in the Chinese market.
As the core province of China's manufacturing, modern agriculture and cooperation with Africa, Hunan has mature engineering machinery, agricultural product processing, and textile manufacturing industries. It also has national core platforms such as the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Innovation Demonstration Park. It has a complete logistics system, rich scientific research resources, and profound experience in cooperation with Africa. It can rely on its own industrial advantages to In response to the industrial transformation needs of African countries, it provides technical support, equipment output and talent training for African agricultural product processing and light manufacturing. At the same time, it builds precise trade docking channels to help African high-quality deep-processed products reach Chinese consumers directly, allowing African producers to connect with China’s huge consumer market, and achieve two-way trade interoperability, industrial complementarity, mutual benefit and win-win between China and Africa.
China News Service reporter: What does China-Africa cooperation mean for South-South cooperation?
Edward Boateng: China-Africa cooperation fully demonstrates that developing countries can rely on partnership to achieve common development instead of falling into a dependency relationship. China-Africa cooperation provides a new model of pragmatic development cooperation based on mutual benefit and win-win results, respect for the development demands of all countries, and pragmatic development cooperation.
From infrastructure co-construction to coordinated industrial development, from trade connectivity to people-to-people and cultural exchanges, the successful practice of China-Africa cooperation has enabled many developing countries to see a feasible path to independent modernization. At the same time, China-Africa cooperation continues to promote the development of the global governance system in a more inclusive, equitable, and multi-polar direction, greatly enhances the voice and influence of developing countries in global development governance and the formulation of international trade rules, promotes the construction of a more just and reasonable new global development pattern, and injects core impetus into the long-term development of global South-South cooperation.
In an international environment with increasing uncertainty, China-Africa cooperation not only strengthens South-South cooperation, but also promotes the construction of a more inclusive and balanced international order. (End)
Interviewee profile:
Edward Boateng. Photo courtesy of Hunan Provincial Foreign Affairs Office
Edward Boateng, a senior Ghanaian diplomat and entrepreneur, served as Ghana's ambassador to China from June 2017 to November 2020, and also served as ambassador to Mongolia and North Korea. During his tenure, he actively deepened China-Ghana economic, trade, infrastructure, and people-to-people and cultural cooperation, promoted the implementation of a number of key projects, and promoted the friendly development of the two countries. He was awarded the title of Outstanding Ambassador of Ghana and other honors.
