Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in South Africa – Honours 35 Years of China’s Development Cooperation in Africa

Dr Jaya Josie, Adjunct Professor Institute for Social Development (ISD) University of the Western Cape (UWC)

Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi attends the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg from February 20 to 21, 2025. Preceding this visit to South Africa it was significant that China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi’s first foreign visit in January and February 2025 was to Africa, marking two significant milestones for China and Africa. Both months respectively commemorate 35-year events that have subsequently shaped China and Africa international relations. The year 2025 commemorates the 35th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) initiative by General Secretary, Jiang Zemin in 1990, to begin Chinta’s international relations visits with a visit to Africa. For Africa and South Africa another momentous event in particular was marked in February 2025, in 1990 thirty-five years ago, South Africa’s father of the nation, Nelson Mandela was freed from 27 years of imprisonment on Robben Island. This event celebrated across the country, Africa, China and the world in general. 

In January 2025, in keeping with China’s 35-year international relations tradition, Minister Wang Yi visited Namibia, the Republic of Congo, Chad and Nigeria. A statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) stated that the purpose of Minister Wang Yi’s visit was to implement the outcomes of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit. A key aim was to consolidate practical cooperation across the board for sustained and substantive growth of China-Africa relations. Wang Yi’s visit to the African countries maintains China’s solidarity and cooperation with Africa that goes back even before 1990. China was at the forefront of support for Africa’s anti-colonial liberation struggles from the 1960s and embarked on a major construction of the Tazara railway line that connected Zambia to Tanzania. Today China and the two countries have begun a new investment to refurbish and modernise the Tazara as evidence of China’s continuous commitment to friendship. 

Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the four African countries lays the foundation for elevating bilateral relations to the level of strategic relations to build communities with a shared future. This year the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027) has begun with Wang Yi’s visit to Africa and over the next three years China and Africa will implement partnership initiatives to advance modernisation for China and African countries.  According to China’s MFA the initiatives cover mutual learning between civilisations, trade prosperity, industrial chain cooperation, connectivity, development cooperation, health care, rural revitalisation and people’s well-being, people-to-people exchanges, green development, and common security. In addition to his visit to Africa Wang Yi also visited the United Kingdom and Ireland and had discussions with the respective foreign ministers to consolidate China’s longstanding diplomatic and trade ties with these countries. 

February 2025 also marks South Africa’s and Africa own significant 35th anniversary milestone when the country and continent as a whole witnessed the beginning of its total liberation and its final opening to complete its international engagements and development cooperation. Since these events unfolded China’s cooperation with Africa and South Africa has grown from strength to strength. In February 2025 South Africa will host the G20 foreign minister’s meeting which Minister Wang Yi will attend. The meeting is a precursor to South Africa hosting the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November 2025.  However, before attending the G20 foreign ministers meeting Minister Wang Yi will be attending the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany from the 14 to 16 February 2025. Both meetings are taking place in a time of global tensions and international conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. 

The MSC took place at the same time as the 38th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and China’s President Xi Jinping extended warm congratulations to members of the AU and African people in general. The message highlighted China’s commitment to China-Africa relations and China’s steadfast support for Africa’s independence, self-reliance and development. It is important to note that the AU Summit ends a few days before the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg begins, and where the AU entry into the G20 is expected to be discussed.  As China was the first major country to openly support the AU’s entry into the G20 perhaps Wang Yi is most likely to ensure that Africa’s voice is not only heard in the G20 but also on the global stage.   

As Minister Wang Yi prepares to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting China’s MFA released a statement declaring that the G20 is a platform for global international cooperation, the G20 is required to advocate the spirit of partnership, pool efforts to promote global economic growth and set the pace for making global governance more just and equitable. In this regard it is important for the AU to have a seat at the G20 and all other global governance institutions. A more just and equitable global governance architecture that includes the AU will create conditions for all countries to achieve common development and prosperity. 

Despite the noble aims of the G20 Wang Yi’s 2025 visit to Africa coincides with global developments in international relations across all continents  with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the new President in the United States of America (USA). The ongoing Ukraine war; conflicts in the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Africa, and the Israeli-Palestine conflict in the Middle East have all raised international tensions. In the midst of these conflicts Donald Trump has threatened a trade war with trade tariffs and cutting off of development aid to many African countries including South Africa, China and the BRICS group of countries. The USA Secretary of State has decided not to attend the G20 foreign ministers meeting and President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to cut off US aid for South Africa because the country has introduced constitutionally mandated legislation for the expropriation of land in South Africa and, because South Africa has dared to challenge in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza. In South Africa’s defence President Cyril Ramaphosa indicated in Parliament that the USA president was misinformed about the land act in South Africa as it was within the country’s democratic framework to undertake land reform to redress the unequal land distribution in the country. In his speech to Parliament President Ramaphosa also made it abundantly clear that South Africa will not be bullied and will always protect its own national interests and hard worn democracy and human rights traditions.   

In expressing complete support for South Africa’s hosting of the G20, China’s MFA statement reiterated the position that China stands ready to work with all parties to make the G20 meetings productive and send a strong message supporting multilateralism, strengthening solidarity and cooperation and jointly responding to global challenges. China has been in step with South Africa’s and Africa’s stance on many of the current conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. In a recent statement China’s MFA spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, addressed China’s position on Donald Trump’s statement on the Gaza Strip and stated clearly that “Gaza is an integral part of Palestinian territory and not a political bargaining chip and the target of the law of the jungle. It has been devasted by war and is full of suffering. The international community”, he continued, “and especially major powers should work together to provide humanitarian assistance and reconstruction to Gaza, rather than adding insult to injury. China supports the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and always believed that Palestinians governing Palestine is an important principle and must be adhered and that China is opposed to the forced migration of the residents of Gaza”. 

In keeping with these sentiments and addressing the theme of multipolarity at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked whether “multipolarity will bring colonial chaos, conflict, and confrontation. Does it mean domination by major countries and the strong bullying the weak? Unequal orders are bound to meet their demise. China’s answer is that we should work for an equal and orderly multipolar world.”  On the issue of the US tariffs on China Minister Wang Yi argued that “protectionism offers no way out and arbitrary tariffs produce no winners. Decoupling deprives one of opportunities and, a small yard with high fences only ends up restraining oneself. It is important to pursue open cooperation and support an equal and orderly multipolar world with a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization“. Continuing on the theme of domination and threats Minister Wang Yi said, “the world today is witnessing incessant chaos and confusion and one important reason is that some countries believe that might makes right and have opened a pandora’s box. In reality all countries regardless of size or strength are stakeholders in the international rule of law. The multipolar paradigm must not be a state of disarray without norms and standards as one may be at the table yesterday but end up on the menu tomorrow.”        

China’s position on Africa  and the Global South is not a new policy based on the need to dominate and colonise as some detractors wish to present the PRC’s current international relations stance. In fact 2025 also commemorates the 70th anniversary marking the CPC’s adoption in 1955 of the principles that govern its international relations known as the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China’s Five Principles includes; mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty; mutual non-aggression; mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs; equality and co-operation for mutual benefit, and, peaceful co-existence. In 2024, at the Beijing FOCAC Conference, drawing on the Five Principles, President Xi Jinping proposed drawing up a new blueprint for comprehensively strengthening China-Africa cooperation and, elevating China-Arab cooperation in the new era to a higher level at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. In a sense this will be a fitting commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and a tribute to 35 years of China putting Africa first on its annual diplomatic calendar. For President Ramaphosa, hosting the G20 foreign ministers meeting and Summit in the 35th  year of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison will bring back memories as he was one the liberation movement leaders who welcomed Nelson Mandela on his release. Many South Africans and Africans recall these events with pride as they recall that it took centuries of struggle and sacrifice to liberate South Africa. The people of South Africa and the continent as a whole  will stand firm in the face of any threats of recolonisation and intimidation.      

* The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.