Members of the research group of “Xi Jinping and African Studies” from China-Africa Institute (CAI) met with professor Nkolo Foé, a noted African scholar on March 23, 2023 in Beijing. The Cameroonian scholar was invited to attend the second International Forum on Democracy: The Shared Human Values that recently held in Beijing. Professor Li Xinfeng, the executive president of the CAI and leader of the research group, and Dr. Deng Yanting, deputy director of the Division of Security Studies and a member of the research group had a communication with professor Nkolo Foé.
Nkolo Foé is a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Yaoundé 1 in Cameroon, and the former vice president of Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). He owns a high reputation in the academic community of philosophy and social science in Africa, particularly in academic circles of Francophone Africa. With great research achievements in the study of China-Africa relations, professor Nkolo Foé are invited to China for academic communications on a regular basis. He is a African member of the International consultative committee of the CAI, and also one of the main contributors to the research project “Xi Jinping and African studies”.
Li Xinfeng presenting the English version of
“Xi Jinping: The Governance of China IV” to professor Nkolo Foé
Professor Nkolo Foé spoke highly of the CAI and its efforts to push forward the research project “Xin Jinping and African studies”. He said, China-Africa relations are going through a steady development on the basis of sincerity, equality and mutual benefit, offering a guiding light for the world going forward. Unlike the relations between Africa and the Western countries, the distinctiveness and sustainability of China-Africa relations are the important achievements of Chinese modernization in its foreign relations. With the sound development of China-Africa relations, the study of Xi Jinping thought on diplomacy will help to advance the implementation of Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative across the African continent. It will continue to strengthen China-Africa friendship, and help China to make contributions to the inheritance and development of Bandung Spirit in the 21st century.
Professor Nkolo Foé regarded the International Forum on Democracy: The Shared Human Values as a powerful counterattack against the Western countries’ hegemony over public opinion and paradigm. He made the speech “To understand democracy in globalization and the diversity of human civilization” at the forum, pointing out that according to the history of human development, there are diversified approaches of realizing democracy, and it is up to the people of the nation to decide which way to go for their development in the practice of democracy. Countries around the world should strengthen communication and mutual learning based on the true meaning of democracy, rather than taking advantage to seek geopolitical interests.
China’s whole-process people's democracy, the major achievement made independently by China itself, embodies the relationships between democracy and modernization, effectiveness of governance, social stability, human rights protection, green development and other topics. African countries can draw on China’s experience in their process of exploring the development of de-westernized democratic politics. The Cameroonian scholar is confident with the prospect of people-to-people exchanges as it will push forward the building of China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. In recent years, Nkolo Foé has been working to promote people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa, assisting African universities, including University of Yaoundé 1 to establish Confucius Institute and introducing the French version of the book “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China Ⅰ- Ⅲ” to the African academic community. He said, with China’s regular epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19, many events such as the “Three lectures” (namely The Africa Lecture, The China Lecture and The Ambassador Lecture) that is initiated by CAI will be introduced to the African continent, so as to advance the high-quality development of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and offer support to the implementation of Africa’s development strategies that are in line with the Belt and Road Initiative.
Deng Yanting(first left) presenting English version of anthology of “Three Lectures” of China-Africa Institute (No.1)
to professor Nkolo Foé
Professor Li Xinfeng extended his warm welcome to Nkolo Foé, and expressed his gratitude for Nkolo’s efforts of supporting the work of the CAI and promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa. Li said, the research project “Xi Jinping and African studies” is one of the major projects of the CAI, and the upcoming book “Xi Jinping and Africa”(including 10 volumes of English version and 10 volumes of Chinese version) will be a masterpiece showing the great achievements of African studies in China in the new era. He welcomed more African scholars to take part in the CAI’s communication platforms such as the “Three Lectures” and to promote the CAI’s three communication mechanisms (namely the governance of a country, the sustainable development and the joint pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative), so as to strengthen China-Africa people-to-people exchanges in the post-epidemic era.