By Zhang Youyi & Luo Nan, Research Team on “The Belt and Road Initiative-Backed International Cooperation Mechanism”, International Cooperation Department, DRC

Research Report, No.99, 2019 (Total 5599) 2019-6-25

Abstract: China-Africa Cooperation Forum is one of the major cross-regional cooperation mechanisms initiated by China. From the perspective of cooperation content, the establishment of the Forum marks the transformation of China-Africa relations from political and economic cooperation in limited areas to comprehensive cooperation in political, economic, social and cultural fields. From the perspective of ways of cooperation, it has changed from decentralized bilateral cooperation to multilateral collective cooperation. From the perspective of organizational structure, the Forum has formed a relatively complete organizational structure covering various levels and different fields. The Forum has a high mechanism synergy with a strong binding force, but it also faces a number of problems and challenges. The enlightenments drawn from the development of the Forum for the enhancement of the Belt and Road Initiative-backed international cooperation mechanism are as follows. On the one hand, its experience provides relevant reference for the advance of the Belt and Road Initiative-backed international cooperation mechanism. On the other hand, it could be incorporated with the Belt and Road Initiative-backed international cooperation mechanism network as a regional support platform for pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative.

Key words: international cooperation mechanism, the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Africa Cooperation Forum