Episode 61 - FOCAC Assessment: How this FOCAC compared to 2012

Cowries and Rice

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) just ended on December 4-5 in Johannesburg, South Africa. For historical context, FOCAC was initiated in 2000 in Beijing in order to sketch out a three-year cooperation plan between China and the countries of Africa. Since then, the triennial meetings have alternated between China and an African country. Hosts Winslow Robertson, Lina Benabdallah, and Yiting Wang wanted to assess FOCAC in relation to the 2012 iteration and brought Dr. Bob Wekesa back on the pod to share his thoughts. Dr. Wekesa received his PhD in international communications at Communication University of China and is currently a Research Associate at University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, as well as a founding research coordinator at the African Communication Research Centre at the same university. His journalism experience spans reporting, editing and leadership across multiple media platforms; in addition to numerous articles, Wekesa is the author of two books and his third, on China-Africa, is forthcoming.