The Implications of the Chinese-Path Modernization for Africa’s Development

As the world’s largest developing country and the continent with the highest concentration of developing countries, China and Africa share common development goals and tasks. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, China and Africa experienced a special phase of national independence and the exploration of development paths; the economic development levels of China and Africa were once comparable, and a few African countries even outperformed China economically for a time. However, when China began reform and opening up in the late 1970s and entered the “fast track” of economic development, African countries remained mired in the turmoil of structural adjustment and democratization. At the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, when China achieved a comprehensive victory in the fight against poverty, built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and the Communist Party of China successfully led the people onto the path of Chinese-path modernization, the development of African countries had still not seen fundamental improvement. Given the global impact of China’s development achievements, strengthening the sharing of poverty reduction and development experiences between China and Africa, exploring the significance of the Chinese-path modernization for Africa’s development, and breaking free from the constraints of Western modernization views and paths on Africa have become epochal issues that African leaders and people of insight must seriously consider.

作为世界上最大的发展中国家和发展中国家最集中的大陆，中国与非洲面临着共同的发展目标和任务。在整个20世纪后半期，中国与非洲经历了民族独立与探索发展道路的特殊阶段，中非双方的经济发展曾处于同一水平，少数非洲国家经济发展甚至一度好于中国。然而，当20世纪70年代末中国开始实行改革开放，并进入经济发展的“快车道”时，非洲国家仍深陷结构调整和民主化的动荡之中。21世纪第三个十年伊始，当中国脱贫攻坚战取得了全面胜利并全面建成小康社会、中国共产党领导人民成功走出中国式现代化道路之时，非洲国家的发展仍未实现根本改观。鉴于中国发展成就取得的世界性影响，加强中非减贫与发展的经验分享，探寻中国式现代化道路对非洲发展的意义，突破西方现代化观和现代化道路对非洲的制约，便成为非洲国家领导人及有识之士必须要认真思考的时代课题。

I. Western Modernization Theory and the Development of Africa and China

一、西方现代化理论与非洲和中国的发展

Western developed countries took nearly 300 years to bring about 1 billion people into modernization, forging the Western path of modernization. For a long period in the past, the Western model seemed to be the only model of modernization. “Modernization” appeared to be synonymous with “Westernization,” and the path taken by Western countries was regarded as the “single path” to modernization. In reality, the Western modernization theory that emerged in the latter half of the 20th century was a product of the combination of U.S. Cold War mobilization and academia, providing a theoretical basis for the United States to contain the expansion of communism and intervene in Third World countries. Its foundation consisted of a series of fundamental assumptions about the nature of global change and the relationship between the United States and that change. Western modernization theory, based on the dichotomy of developed and underdeveloped, with the opposition between tradition and modernity as its main axis, and using Western countries as benchmarks and paradigms, depicted and planned a “standard” path to modernization for non-Western countries. It sought to promote the idea that only the Western capitalist development model is the correct choice and to advance a Western modernization that is “universally applicable.” This modernization theory is essentially a “civilized–barbaric” dichotomous world schema, in which Western “civilized” countries have a responsibility to help backward countries escape the “barbaric” state. Its “civilizing mission” thesis reveals the ideology of Western colonialism and imperialism. In fact, Western modernization theory is not based on universal human experience; it is both ahistorical and unscientific, and thus has been continuously falsified in practice. Over the past half-century and more, the growing imbalance in world development and the widening gap between developed and underdeveloped countries are the best evidence. Many developing countries, having copied and replicated Western modernization plans, have fallen into economic depression and political decay, while the United States, once touted as a model of modernization, has also lost its former glory.

西方发达国家用了近300年时间，让10亿左右的人口进入现代化，走出了现代化的西方道路。在过去很长一段时期内，西方模式似乎成为现代化的唯一模式。“现代化”似乎就等同于“西方化”，西方国家所走的道路被认为是通往现代化的“单一道路”。实际上，20世纪后半叶兴起的西方现代化理论，是美国冷战动员与学术界相结合的产物，为美国遏制共产主义扩张、干涉第三世界国家提供了理论根据，其基础是关于全球变迁的性质以及美国与全球变迁关系的一系列带有根本性的假设。西方现代化理论以发达与欠发达的二分法为基础，以传统与现代的对立为主轴，以西方国家为标杆和范式，为非西方国家描绘和规划了一条“标准”的现代化之路，试图达到鼓吹只有西方资本主义发展模式是唯一正确的选择、推动一种“放之四海而皆准”的西方现代化之目的。这种现代化理论本质上是一种“文明—野蛮”的两分世界图式，即西方“文明”国家有责任帮助落后国家摆脱“野蛮”状态，其“文明开化使命”论彰显了西方殖民主义和帝国主义的意识形态。事实上，西方的现代化理论并非以人类普遍经验为依据，其既是非历史的，也是非科学的，所以在实践中不断被证伪。半个多世纪以来，世界发展越来越不平衡，发达国家与欠发达国家之间的差距持续拉大就是最好例证。许多发展中国家因照搬、复制西方现代化方案而陷入经济凋敝、政治衰败的困境，而曾被标榜为现代化范本的美国亦不复昔日辉煌。

As a development concept, once “modernization” is endowed with ideological connotations by the Western world as the stronger party and becomes a knowledge system constructed to maintain its own power and status, it acquires the power of life and death. In the construction, dominance, and practice of so-called Western modernization theory, Africa—a continent full of vitality—was not only judged by the West as a “traditional and backward continent” but also turned into a “hopeless continent” in the process of Western “modernization.” Since Western modernization theory became the dominant school in the 1950s and 1960s, many newly independent African countries took their former European metropoles as models to build “modern” societies. They believed that political independence was a reliable guarantee and sufficient precondition for accelerating modernization. However, Africa’s “modernization” process soon became a development paradox: these countries did not enjoy increasingly better lives but instead became poorer and more turbulent. Tracing the roots, the historical cultures, development backgrounds, social conditions, cultural concepts, and international environments of the vast number of African countries are completely different from those of Western countries. Copying and replicating the Western modernization model is like cutting one’s feet to fit the shoes, leading only to repeated failures for these countries. The result often plunges them deeper into the quagmire of “modernization.” The Western countries, relying on their so-called advantages in race, psychology, institutions, and culture, attribute the failure of “modernization” in African countries to Africa itself, denying that Africa’s development is related to Western colonial plunder and the unjust international political and economic order. In essence, the modernization achieved by Western countries is the result of a long process of colonization, accompanied by the massive deaths of tens of millions of indigenous Americans and Africans, as well as large-scale destruction of resources and the environment, thereby forming the primitive accumulation of industrial capital and achieving continuous capital expansion. The “civilized–barbaric” dichotomous world schema and the unilinear view of history in Western modernization theory provided theoretical justification for their colonial expansion. Needless to say, it is precisely the Western modernization process that has caused the backward state of African countries today. The vast number of developing countries, including those in Africa, cannot replicate or copy the Western path of colonial expansion, nor can humanity sustain the entire world on the path of Western-style “modernization” with the massive resource consumption that developed countries have used.

作为一个发展概念，“现代化”一旦被作为强者的西方世界赋予意识形态内涵，成为其维护自身权力地位而构建的一种知识体系，它便具有了生杀予夺之权。 在所谓的西方现代化理论构建、主导和实践中，非洲这个充满生机活力的大陆，不仅被西方判定为“传统与落后的大陆”，也在西方“现代化”过程中变成了“无望的大陆”。自20世纪五六十年代西方现代化理论成为主导流派以来，许多新独立的非洲国家以前欧洲宗主国为样板建设“现代”社会，他们相信政治上的独立是加快实现现代化的可靠保证和充分前提，然而非洲的“现代化”过程很快就成为一个发展悖论，这些国家并没有过上越来越好的日子，反而更加贫困和动荡。究其根源，广大非洲国家的历史文化、发展背景、社会条件、文化理念以及国际大环境等都与西方国家截然不同，对西方现代化模式的照搬和复制无异于削足适履，只能导致这些国家的一次次失败，其结果往往使得这些国家在“现代化”的泥淖中越陷越深。西方国家反而依据其所谓的人种、心理、制度、文化优势，将非洲国家的“现代化”失败归咎于非洲自身，否认非洲发展与西方国家的殖民掠夺和不合理的国际政治经济秩序有关。实质上，西方国家实现的现代化是一个长期殖民化的结果，在这个过程中伴随着美洲土著和非洲上亿人口的大量死亡，以及资源环境的大规模破坏，由此形成工业化资本的原始积累，从而实现资本的不断扩张。西方现代化理论的“文明—野蛮”两分世界图式和单线发展的历史观为其殖民扩张提供了理论辩护。毋庸讳言，正是西方的现代化进程造成了今天非洲国家的落后状态，包括非洲在内的广大发展中国家不可能去复制、照搬西方的殖民扩张之路，人类也不可能像发达国家那样用庞大的资源消耗来支撑整个世界走上西方式“现代化”道路。

African academia has never ceased to reflect on, critique, and re-examine the Western modernization model. In the 1960s, some scholars known as modern revisionists criticized several key points of modernization, pointing out that “traditional” institutions and attitudes are not necessarily obstacles to modernization; in fact, traditional features may be revitalized and strengthened through modernization, thereby negating the unilinear character of modernization. By the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, dependency theory (also known as the theory of dependence) emerged in Africa, with Egypt’s Samir Amin as its founder. He argued that the vast number of developing countries have a dependent, exploitative, and exploited relationship with developed countries, and that unless the entire international economic system is studied, the roots of underdevelopment and economic stagnation in the Global South cannot be understood. This theory was a refutation of and response to Western modernization theory, holding that underdeveloped countries are in a weak position in the world economic order, have their own characteristics and structures, and are not primitive versions of developed countries. The renowned African historian Walter Rodney, in his book *How Europe Underdeveloped Africa*, pointed out that before the spread of international capitalism, the African continent’s politics and economy were continuously developing, but capitalism, through European colonial invasion, hindered Africa’s independent development. Europe became richer and more developed at Africa’s expense. Therefore, to escape this unequal relationship, the way out lies in breaking away from the international political and economic system. [1]1 Xi Entering the 21st century, African scholars have increasingly emphasized the diversity of modernization, pointing out that modernization should focus on each country’s cultural lineage, local practices, and the modern characteristics of non-Western societies. They argue that the Western modernization model is not the only correct option, even though it historically had the first-mover advantage and remains a reference point for many other countries.

非洲学界一直未停止对西方现代化模式的反思反省反观。20世纪60年代，一些被称为现代修正主义者的学者对现代化的几个关键点进行了批判，指出“传统”制度和态度不一定是实现现代化的障碍，事实上传统特征可能会通过现代化得到振兴与加强，从而否定现代化的单线性特征。到20世纪六七十年代之交，非洲又出现了依赖理论（又称依附理论），埃及的萨米尔·阿明（Samir Amin）是依赖理论的创始人。他认为，广大发展中国家与发达国家之间是一种依附式的、被剥削与剥削的关系，除非研究整个国际经济体系，否则就无法理解全球南方的不发达和经济停滞的根源。这一理论是对西方现代化理论的一种驳斥和回应，认为不发达国家处于世界经济秩序的弱势境地，具有自身特征和结构，不是发达国家的原始版本。著名非洲史学家沃尔特·罗德尼（Walter Rodney）在《欧洲如何使非洲欠发达》一书中指出，在国际资本主义蔓延之前，非洲大陆的政治和经济在不断发展着，但是资本主义通过欧洲殖民主义入侵阻碍了非洲的独立发展，欧洲以牺牲非洲为代价变得更加富裕和发达，因此要摆脱这种不平等的关系，出路在于脱离国际政治经济体系。 进入21世纪以来，非洲的学者们更加强调现代化的多样性，指出现代化应关注各国的文化谱系、当地实践和非西方社会的现代特征，认为西方现代化模式并非唯一正确选项，尽管其在历史上占有先机并仍是其他许多国家的参考点。

The century-long struggle of the Communist Party of China shows that modernization is not the patent of a few countries, that there is no single Western model for the path to modernization, and that the direction of development should be pluralistic; every developing country can achieve modernization by taking its own path. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “There is no fixed model for the path to modernization; the one that suits you best is the best one, and you cannot cut your feet to fit the shoes. The efforts of each country to independently explore a modernization path suited to its own national conditions should be respected.” [1]1 Xi China has taken a modernization path truly suited to its own national conditions, not a reprint or copy of any other country’s modernization path. From a theoretical perspective, in terms of modernity or modern values, Chinese-path modernization possesses greater inclusiveness and openness, transcends the narrow ideology of “Western-centrism,” overcomes the inherent shortcomings of capitalist modernization, and avoids the single-line development model from tradition to modernity. It is a modernization path with Chinese characteristics that opens up a path to modernization for late-developing countries. This is because the “modernization” in Chinese-path modernization is an open-ended developmental concept; it breaks out of the single, narrow, and arbitrary theoretical system originally constructed by Western countries, enriching, supplementing, and correcting the connotation, mode of understanding, and method of interpretation of the concept of “modernization.” At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly elaborated on the five basic features of Chinese-path modernization: it is the modernization of a huge population, the modernization of common prosperity for all the people, the modernization of the coordination of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, the modernization of harmony between humanity and nature, and the modernization of taking the path of peaceful development. [2]2 Mao Zedong, “On Coalition Government” (1945), Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 3. The original Chinese is: “没有独立、自由、民主和统一，不可能建设真正大规模的工业。” This quote is from Mao’s political report to the Seventh National Congress of the CPC. Chinese-path modernization has shattered the so-called myth of the dominance of the “Western-centric” model in modernization theory and practice, subverting the logic of “capital,” the logic of “polarization,” the logic of “materialism,” the logic of “alienation,” and the law of the jungle of “the weak are prey to the strong” that pervade the Western modernization model and capitalist civilization. It truly manifests the logic of “the people,” the logic of “common prosperity,” the logic of “the all-round and free development of the individual,” and the just principle of equality and common progress among all peoples. This is a modernization path and a new form of human civilization unprecedented in human history, reflecting the trend of human historical development, expanding the avenues for the vast number of developing countries, including African countries, to achieve modernization, and providing a new choice for those countries and nations that both wish to accelerate development and maintain their independence.

中国共产党百年奋斗历程表明，现代化不是少数国家的专利，现代化道路并非只有西方一种模式，发展的方向应该是多元的，每个发展中国家都可以通过走自己的路实现现代化。正如习近平总书记指出的那样，“现代化道路并没有固定模式，适合自己的才是最好的，不能削足适履。每个国家自主探索符合本国国情的现代化道路的努力都应该受到尊重”。中国走出的是一条真正适合自己国情的现代化道路，而不是任何国家现代化道路的再版或翻版。从理论维度来看，在现代性或现代价值上，中国式现代化道路具有更大的包容性和开放性，超越了“西方中心主义”的狭隘意识形态，克服了资本主义现代化的天生弊端，避免了从传统到现代的单线发展模式，是具有中国特色的现代化道路，开辟了后发国家走向现代化的道路。这是因为，中国式现代化道路中的“现代化”是一个开放性的发展概念，它跳出了西方国家建构的原有意义上的单一狭隘和武断的理论体系，充实、丰富和矫正了“现代化”概念的内涵意义、理解方式和阐释方法。习近平总书记在党的十九届五中全会上深刻阐述了中国式现代化的五个基本特征，即中国现代化是人口规模巨大的现代化、是全体人民共同富裕的现代化、是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化、是人与自然和谐共生的现代化、是走和平发展道路的现代化。中国式现代化道路打破了在现代化理论和实践上“西方中心主义”模式一统天下的所谓神话，颠覆了西方现代化模式和资本主义文明充斥着的“资本”逻辑、“两极分化”逻辑、“物质主义”逻辑、“异化”逻辑和“弱肉强食”的丛林法则，真正展现出“人民”逻辑、“共同富裕”逻辑、“人的全面而自由的发展”逻辑和各国人民一律平等共同进步的正义法则。这是人类历史上前所未有的一条现代化道路和人类文明新形态，反映了人类历史发展趋向，拓展了包括非洲国家在内的广大发展中国家走向现代化的途径，给世界上那些既希望加快发展又希望保持自身独立性的国家和民族提供了全新选择。

II. The Tortuous Course of African Countries’ Exploration of Poverty Reduction and Modernization

二、非洲国家探索减贫与现代化道路的曲折历程

Understanding the state of poverty in Africa and the course of its exploration of development paths is a basic prerequisite for strengthening exchanges and mutual learning between China and Africa in this area. Overall, Africa’s poverty rate is high at the global level, with both internal and external causes. The course of Africa’s exploration of modernization has been tortuous and has achieved limited results. As of the 21st century, poverty reduction and the search for an independent development path in Africa remain fraught with challenges.

了解非洲的贫困状况与发展道路探索历程是中非加强该领域交流互鉴的基本前提。整体来看，非洲的贫困率在全球层面居于高位，其原因既有内部的，也有外部的。非洲探索现代化道路的历程是曲折的，且成效有限。截至21世纪的今天，非洲的减贫与探寻自主发展之路仍然充满挑战。

1. The Current State of Poverty in Africa and Its Causes

1.非洲的贫困现状及成因

Achieving sustainable economic development and social progress, and ultimately eliminating poverty, has always been an important task for African countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most severely impoverished regions in the world and a key area where the number of poor people continues to increase. According to World Bank statistics, as of early 2021, more than 30 African countries still had a poverty rate exceeding 30%, and among the ten countries with the highest global poverty rates, nine are in Africa. A report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) points out that approximately 90% of the world’s extremely poor live in Africa, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated Africa’s poverty problem. If the impact of the pandemic cannot be controlled before 2021, the total number of extremely poor people in Africa will reach 514 million. It is also estimated that even under the most optimistic scenario, by 2030, more than 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will still be living in extreme poverty. Therefore, Africa is the final battleground in the global fight against poverty, and whether the world can successfully eliminate poverty will largely depend on Africa’s development.

实现经济可持续发展和社会进步，乃至最终消除贫困，一直是非洲国家面临的重要任务。撒哈拉以南非洲是世界上贫困化最严重的地区之一，也是贫困人口持续增加的重点地区。据世界银行统计，截至2021年初，贫困率超过30%的非洲国家仍有30多个，全球贫困率最高的10个国家中，非洲就占到9个。联合国非洲经济委员会（ECA）的报告指出，世界上大约90%的极端贫困人口都生活在非洲，新冠肺炎疫情进一步加剧了非洲的贫困问题，如果疫情的影响在2021年之前无法得到控制，那么非洲极端贫困人口总数将达到5.14亿。另据估计，即使在最乐观的情况下，到2030年，撒哈拉以南非洲地区仍将有3亿多人处于极端贫困状态。因此，非洲是全球反贫困斗争的最后战场，全球能否成功消除贫困，将在很大程度上取决于非洲的发展状况。

Africa is rich in natural resources and has a huge potential demographic dividend, so why has it become the world’s poorest region? In this regard, some scholars start from the characteristics of physical geography, pointing out that the African continent mainly has three types of countries: resource-rich countries, resource-scarce coastal countries, and resource-scarce landlocked countries. The economic growth performance of these three types of countries varies greatly. The very cause of Africa’s poverty is that a large population lives in resource-scarce landlocked countries, which have to rely on neighboring countries to access the sea. The constraints of physical geography, combined with human geographical features such as a relatively young population structure and ethnic diversity, interact to make poverty reduction in Africa a thorny issue. Other scholars believe that corruption, backward education, political instability, geographical features, and the lack of good governance are causes of poverty in Africa. Still others emphasize that Africa’s poverty is caused by factors such as corruption, poor governance, limited employment opportunities, inadequate infrastructure, low resource utilization, war and endless conflict, and inappropriate policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

非洲自然资源丰富，人口待释放红利巨大，为何会成为世界上最贫困地区？对此，有学者从自然地理特征入手，指出非洲大陆主要有三类国家：资源丰富的国家、资源稀缺的沿海国家、资源稀缺的内陆国家，在经济增长中，这三类国家的表现差异很大。而造成非洲贫困的原因恰恰是众多人口生活在资源稀缺且处于内陆的国家，这些国家不得不依赖邻国才能出海，而自然地理的限制加之人文地理特征诸如人口结构比较年轻、民族多样性等相互作用，共同导致非洲减贫成为棘手的问题。 另有学者认为，腐败、教育落后、政局不稳、地理特征、良政善治缺失等是导致非洲贫困的原因。还有学者强调，非洲的贫困是由于腐败、治理不善、就业机会受限、基础设施落后、资源利用率低、战争与无休止的冲突、世界银行和国际货币基金组织的政策不当等因素造成的。

In summary, the causes of poverty in Africa are multifaceted, involving both internal and external factors, with external influences being particularly profound. From an external perspective: First, long-term colonial aggression and rule are the historical root cause of Africa’s long-term poverty. From the landing of Western colonists in Africa in the early 15th century to the independence of most African countries in the 1960s and 1970s, centuries of slave trading and colonial rule kept African countries in a state of single-product economies, destroying the foundation of Africa’s developmental diversity. The 400-year slave trade not only destroyed Africa’s labor force but also severed the natural evolution of African civilization, hindered the historical process of Africa’s development, and damaged the historical foundation of Africa’s development. Second, Western countries’ plunder and control of African economies have made Africa’s development difficult and led to a lack of national autonomy. Although African countries have been politically independent for decades, they remain economically dependent on Western developed countries; the process of economic independence and decolonization in African countries still has a long way to go. Due to poverty and backwardness, some African countries have to rely on aid from Western countries. By attaching political values as conditions to aid, Western countries, through international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have long interfered with and controlled the development strategies and economic policies of African countries, making it difficult for them to effectively lead their own development for a long time. The neoliberal adjustment programs of the 1980s, which led to Africa’s “lost decade,” are a clear example. [3]3 Mao Zedong, “The Chinese Experience Can Serve as a Reference for the African Peoples” (1960), in Mao Zedong on Diplomacy. This meeting took place in Beijing on May 7, 1960, with delegations from twelve African countries and regions. Third, although Western countries currently have various cooperation platforms with Africa, such as the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the France-Africa Summit, and the African Union-EU equal partnership, they have not paid sufficient attention to the infrastructure, industrialization, and livelihood facilities that African countries urgently need, and their actual utility for Africa’s development remains limited. Finally, the old world order that marginalizes Africa exacerbates poverty and underdevelopment, which in turn weakens Africa’s position and voice in international politics and the economy, forming a vicious cycle.

总而言之，导致非洲贫困的原因是多方面的，既有来自内部的，也有来自外部的，其中外部影响甚深。从外部因素看：首先，长期殖民侵略统治是导致非洲长期贫困的历史根源。自15世纪初西方殖民者登陆非洲至20世纪六七十年代非洲多数国家取得独立的数百年间，奴隶贩卖和殖民统治使非洲国家长期处于单一经济状态，非洲发展的多样性基础遭到破坏。长达400年的奴隶贸易不仅摧毁了非洲的劳动力，而且割裂了非洲文明的自然演进，阻碍了非洲发展的历史进程，损害了非洲发展的历史根基。其次，西方国家对非洲国家经济的掠夺和控制，导致非洲发展举步维艰，国家自主性缺失。尽管非洲国家在政治上已经独立数十年，但经济上仍受制于西方发达国家，非洲国家的经济独立和非殖民化进程仍任重道远。由于贫穷落后，一些非洲国家不得不依赖于西方国家的援助。西方国家以在援助中附加政治价值观为条件，通过世界银行和国际货币基金组织等国际金融机构，长期干预和控制非洲国家发展战略和经济政策，导致非洲国家长期难以有效主导自身发展。20世纪80年代新自由主义调整方案导致非洲“失去的十年”便是明证。再次，尽管目前西方国家有美非峰会、法非首脑会议、非盟—欧盟平等伙伴关系等多种对非合作平台，但其并未给予非洲国家急需的基础设施、工业化和民生设施等足够的关注，对非洲发展的实际效用仍然有限。最后，导致非洲边缘化的旧世界秩序加剧了非洲的贫困和欠发达，贫困和欠发达又削弱了非洲在国际政治经济中的地位和话语权，形成恶性循环。

At the same time, poverty and underdevelopment in Africa also stem from numerous internal factors, although these are closely linked to external roots to a large extent. First, most African countries failed to actively implement economic diversification policies and strategies after independence. The long-standing single economic development model has caused national economies to rely excessively on the international economic system and markets, highlighting the fragility of African economies and making it difficult to effectively produce basic products needed for people’s livelihoods. Second, although some African countries possess abundant natural resources, excessive dependence on the resource industry has replaced economic diversification, leaving the economy stuck in a single model for a long time. Because resource extraction rights have long been controlled by Western companies, most resource profits flow into the pockets of multinational corporations and fail to benefit African countries themselves, forming a vicious cycle where resources exacerbate poverty and poverty in turn leads to a “resource curse.” Third, Western-style democracy, built on a backward economic base, has weakened the power of African governments. Some Western scholars even refer to African countries as “quasi-states” or “weak states,” arguing that they are merely “states in a juridical sense” with “negative” sovereignty. Such governments naturally find it difficult to effectively organize social resources for economic development and poverty alleviation, while Western-funded African civil society organizations criticize national leaders and governments in the name of oversight, which to some extent constrains the improvement of governance capacity. Fourth, the long-standing political instability, ethnic and border conflicts in African countries make it difficult for governments to concentrate energy and resources on development. The three major bottlenecks—backward infrastructure, lack of talent, and insufficient funds—constrain the economic development and integration process of African countries, while corruption and low education levels make poverty reduction in Africa a slow and arduous process.

与此同时，非洲贫困与欠发达也源于诸多内部因素，尽管这在很大程度上与外部根源密切相连。第一，多数非洲国家独立后未能积极实施经济多样化政策和战略，单一经济发展模式的长期存在，使得国民经济过多依赖国际经济体系和市场，导致非洲经济脆弱性凸显，难以有效生产出满足民生所需的基础产品。第二，一些非洲国家虽然拥有丰富的自然资源，但对资源产业的过度依赖替代了经济多元化发展，致使经济长期停留于单一模式。由于资源开采权长期为西方公司控制，资源利润多数流入跨国公司囊中而难以惠及非洲国家自身，形成资源加剧贫困，贫困又导致“资源诅咒”的恶性循环。第三，建立在落后经济基础上的西式民主削弱了非洲国家政府的权力，甚至有西方学者将非洲国家称为“准国家”“弱国家”，认为它们只不过是“司法意义上的国家”，其主权是“负的”。这样的政府自然难以有效组织社会资源发展经济和摆脱贫困，而西方资助的非洲本土公民社会组织又以监督政府的名义对国家领导人和政府进行批评，这在一定程度上制约了政府治理能力的提高。第四，非洲国家长期存在的政局动荡、民族和边界冲突使政府难以集中精力和资源于发展。而基础设施落后、人才缺乏和资金不足这三大瓶颈，制约了非洲国家的经济发展和一体化进程，腐败和教育水平低下使非洲减贫步履蹒跚。

2. The Tortuous Course of African Countries’ Exploration of Modernization Paths

2.非洲国家探索现代化道路的曲折历程

For a long time, African countries have often been compelled by external forces and unable to independently choose development paths suited to their own characteristics. Kenyan scholar James Shikwati believes that Africa is living in the dreams of other civilizations, and due to a lack of a set of indigenous ideas and values, the African continent is sometimes tossed eastward and sometimes westward in the vast ocean of geopolitical interests. This is a vivid metaphor, and the facts indeed bear this out. From the early 15th century, Western colonial plunder and rule over Africa forcibly incorporated Africa into the capitalist world system. From then on, Africa’s passive acceptance of Western modernity directly turned into subordination, dependency, and reliance on the West, a process that continued until the eve of African countries’ independence in the 20th century. Can being passively drawn into modernization truly lead to a path of modernization? The answer is no, because modernization often implies a country’s industrialization. As Mao Zedong pointed out: “Without independence, freedom, democracy, and unity, it is impossible to build truly large-scale industry.” [2]2 Mao Zedong, “On Coalition Government” (1945), Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 3. The original Chinese is: “没有独立、自由、民主和统一，不可能建设真正大规模的工业。” This quote is from Mao’s political report to the Seventh National Congress of the CPC.

长期以来，非洲国家常迫于外力而无法独立自主地选择符合自身特点的发展道路。肯尼亚学者詹姆斯·希克瓦蒂（James Shikwati）认为，非洲正生活在其他文明的梦想里，由于缺乏一套本土理念与价值观，非洲大陆在地缘政治利益的汪洋大海里时而被抛向东时而被抛向西。这是一个形象的比喻，事实也确实如此。15世纪初，西方对非洲的殖民掠夺和统治将非洲强行纳入资本主义世界体系，由此，非洲对西方现代性的被动接受直接转变为对西方的从属附庸和依赖，这一过程一直持续到20世纪非洲国家独立前夕。被动卷入现代化能够真正走出一条现代化道路吗？答案是否定的，因为现代化往往意味着一个国家的工业化。正如毛泽东指出的那样：“没有独立、自由、民主和统一，不可能建设真正大规模的工业。”

In the 1960s and 1970s, a large number of newly independent African countries began the historical journey of nation-building. Some of them chose different forms of socialist systems, aiming to break free from Western paradigms of domination and seek economic and social development under new systems. However, intermediate paths or unscientific socialist practices not only failed to bring the expected development to the relevant African countries but also triggered new contradictions and problems, severely constraining their development progress. In this regard, Mao Zedong, when meeting with African government leaders and figures from various sectors, repeatedly cautioned that Africa must choose its development path based on actual conditions. In 1960, during a conversation with social activists, peace advocates, and delegations of trade unions, youth, and students from 12 African countries and regions, Mao emphasized: “You all want to take a look at China’s experience, and we welcome that. Some experiences may serve as your reference, including experiences in revolution and construction. But I must remind friends that China has its own historical conditions, and you have yours. China’s experience can only serve as your reference.” [3]3 Mao Zedong, “The Chinese Experience Can Serve as a Reference for the African Peoples” (1960), in Mao Zedong on Diplomacy. This meeting took place in Beijing on May 7, 1960, with delegations from twelve African countries and regions. Deng Xiaoping also proposed that Africa should not rush into socialism; African countries need to consider whether to adopt socialism based on their own conditions, and if so, to implement socialism suited to each country’s actual circumstances. The primary task of socialism is to develop productive forces and improve the people’s material and cultural living standards. At that time, Africa clearly did not possess the productive forces to truly build socialism, and thus African socialism ultimately ended in failure.

20世纪六七十年代，一大批获得独立的非洲国家开始国家建构的历史征程，其中一些国家曾选择不同形式的社会主义制度，意在摆脱西方统治范式，谋求全新制度下的经济社会发展。然而，中间道路或非科学的社会主义实践非但未能给相关非洲国家带来预期的发展，反而引发新矛盾新问题，严重束缚了它们的发展脚步。对此，毛泽东在会见非洲国家的政府领导人、各界人士时都曾告诫，非洲一定要根据实际情况选择发展道路。1960年，毛泽东在同非洲12个国家及地区的社会活动家、和平人士和工会、青年、学生代表团谈话时强调，“大家要看一看中国的经验，我们很欢迎。有些经验也许可以作你们的参考，包括革命的经验和建设的经验。可是我要提醒朋友们，中国有中国的历史条件，你们有你们的历史条件，中国的经验只能作你们的参考”。邓小平也曾提出，非洲不应该急于搞社会主义，非洲国家需要根据自己的条件考虑是否搞社会主义，以及要搞符合各国实际情况的社会主义。 社会主义的首要任务就是发展生产力，提高人民的物质文化生活水平，而当时的非洲很显然不具备真正建设社会主义的生产力，因而非洲社会主义最终以失败告终。

In the 1980s, based on the environment of U.S.-Soviet competition for Africa and strategic needs, the West, particularly the United States, through the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund it dominated, promoted a series of neoliberal reform measures in Africa centered on market regulation and reduced state intervention, plunging African economies into recession. The end of the Cold War once again provided the West with a historical opportunity to influence Africa’s political systems and development paths. African countries that had adhered to socialism and one-party systems changed their banners one after another, adopting Western-style parliamentary democracy and multiparty systems, and African countries fully embarked on the capitalist development path. However, even as the second decade of the 21st century began, although a few African countries achieved positive development results, African countries as a whole had still not effectively resolved the issue of development paths. The autonomy of Africa’s development and the process of integration still showed no significant results, and the industrialization and agricultural modernization of Africa remained slow and faced multiple difficulties. Facing a rapidly developing world and the United Nations’ poverty reduction and sustainable development agenda, the African Union formulated the “Agenda 2063” to promote Africa’s development, proposing many beautiful visions such as “building a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development.” Among these, the two major visions of building Africa into “an integrated continent, politically united and based on the ideals of Pan-Africanism and the vision of an African Renaissance” and “a strong, united, resilient and influential global player and partner” represent a new definition of Africa’s own development path, with the core being the realization of autonomous development. On this basis, Africa has the right to choose and form an autonomous development path suited to its own characteristics, the right to reject external interference in its internal affairs, and the right to draw on successful experiences conducive to Africa’s development.

20世纪80年代，基于美苏争夺非洲的大环境及战略需求，西方特别是美国通过其主导的世界银行和国际货币基金组织在非洲推行以市场调节为基础、减少国家干预的一系列新自由主义改革措施，致使非洲经济陷入衰退困境。冷战的结束再次给西方提供了影响非洲政治制度和发展道路的历史机遇，奉行社会主义和一党政治的非洲国家纷纷改旗易帜，转而实行西方式的议会民主和多党制，非洲国家全面走上资本主义发展道路。然而，直至进入21世纪第二个十年，尽管少数非洲国家发展取得了积极成效，但非洲国家总体上仍未有效解决发展道路问题，非洲发展的自主性和一体化进程仍然未见明显成效，非洲的工业和农业现代化进程仍旧缓慢且面临多重困境。面对快速发展的世界及联合国减贫与可持续发展议程，非洲联盟制定了推动非洲发展的《2063年议程》，提出“在包容性增长和可持续发展基础上打造繁荣的非洲”等诸多美好愿景。其中，将非洲建设成为“一个在政治上统一并基于泛非主义理想和非洲复兴愿景的一体化大陆”以及“强大、团结、有弹性和有影响力的全球参与者和合作伙伴”这两大愿景，代表着非洲对自身发展道路的全新定义，其核心是实现自主发展。在此基础上，非洲有权选择并形成符合自身特点的自主发展道路，有权拒绝外部力量干涉内政，有权借鉴有助于非洲发展的成功经验。

3. African Countries Face Challenges in Achieving the Goals of Poverty Reduction and Autonomous Development

3.非洲国家实现减贫和自主发展的目标面临挑战

Reviewing and anticipating the process of African countries’ exploration of poverty reduction and development paths is fraught with difficulties and challenges. In recent decades, African countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, have increasingly prioritized poverty reduction and development issues. From the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) proposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the 1980s to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) in 1999, African countries have always been active participants, yet their poverty reduction and development goals remain unfulfilled. The loans provided by these strategies to Africa have been “counterproductive”; far from helping African countries develop, they have instead led to severe problems such as overall economic failure, increased debt burdens, widening wealth gaps, constrained national autonomy, and frequent social conflicts. Africa remains poor and backward. At the 2000 Millennium Summit, UN member states agreed on eight goals, the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs), whose primary goal was to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.” As a region heavily burdened by poverty, Africa was naturally the main target. To achieve the MDGs, African countries made significant efforts and achieved some results in areas such as children’s school enrollment rates and gender equality, but overall progress still fell considerably short of the targets. According to the UN’s *Millennium Development Goals Report 2015*, although the extreme poverty rate in Africa fell from 57% in 1990 to 41% in 2015, a reduction of 28%, this compares with a 66% reduction in South Asia, an 84% reduction in Southeast Asia, and a 94% reduction in East Asia over the same period. In September 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Summit adopted the *2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development*, which, based on the principle of “leaving no one behind,” emphasizes a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all. Among its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the primary goal remains poverty eradication, while also emphasizing the need to comprehensively address development issues across the three dimensions of society, economy, and environment in an inclusive manner from 2015 to 2030, transitioning to a sustainable development path. While implementing the *2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development*, African countries are also committed to realizing the vision of the African Union’s *Agenda 2063* for a more prosperous Africa. The UN *2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development* and the AU *Agenda 2063* together constitute the goals that African countries are striving to achieve.

回顾和展望非洲国家减贫与发展道路探索进程，充满困难和挑战。近几十年来，非洲国家特别是撒哈拉以南非洲国家越来越重视减贫与发展议题。从20世纪80年代世界银行和国际货币基金组织提出的结构调整计划（SAPs），到1999年的减贫战略文件（PRSPs），非洲国家始终都是积极参与者，但其减贫和发展目标仍未实现。这些战略对非洲提供的贷款“适得其反”，不但没有帮助非洲国家发展，反而使其遭遇了整体经济失败、债务负担加剧、贫富差距拉大、国家自主权受限、社会矛盾频发等严重问题，非洲依然贫穷落后。在2000年的千年首脑会议上，联合国各会员国商定了八项目标，即“千年发展目标”（MDGs），其首要目标是“消除极端贫困和饥饿”，作为贫困重地的非洲自然是主要对象。为实现千年发展目标，非洲国家作出巨大努力并在儿童入学率和妇女平等方面取得一定成效，但整体收效与目标尚有不小差距。根据联合国《千年发展目标2015年报告》，虽然非洲极端贫困率从1990年的57%下降到2015年的41%，下降率为28%，但相比之下，同期南亚地区下降66%，东南亚地区下降84%，东亚地区下降94%。2015年9月，联合国可持续发展峰会通过《2030年可持续发展议程》，该议程基于“不让任何人掉队”的原则，强调采用整体方法实现所有人的可持续发展。在其涵盖的17个可持续发展目标（SDGs）中，首要目标依然是消除贫困，同时强调从2015年到2030年间以包容性方式彻底解决社会、经济和环境三个维度的发展问题，转向可持续发展道路。在落实《2030年可持续发展议程》的同时，非洲国家还致力于实现非盟《2063年议程》之建设一个更加繁荣的非洲的愿景。联合国《2030年可持续发展议程》与非盟《2063年议程》共同成为非洲国家追求实现的目标。

Although the vision is beautiful, the tasks are arduous and the challenges severe; the pace of economic growth and poverty reduction in African countries remains very slow. Some urgent problems and challenges—such as how to translate economic growth into opportunities for poverty reduction; how to convert resources into developmental advantages rather than falling into the “curse” of single-resource dependence; how to maintain a moderate balance between population and economic growth so that the former does not offset the latter; how to promote the maturation and stability of political systems to avoid triggering political turmoil; how to effectively implement counter-terrorism strategies; how to achieve autonomous development—are all unavoidable issues for African countries in reducing poverty and realizing the goals of the *2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development* and the vision of *Agenda 2063*. Reality shows that achieving poverty reduction and autonomous development in African countries requires the joint impetus of multiple internal and external factors. Internal factors are fundamental, external factors are conditions, and external factors take effect through internal factors. On the basis of solving internal problems, African countries should create favorable external conditions to effectively promote poverty reduction and autonomous development in Africa. As a developing country, China’s experience in poverty reduction and modernization can provide an important external reference for Africa.

虽然愿景是美好的，但任务是艰巨的、挑战是严峻的，非洲国家的经济增长和减贫进程依然十分缓慢。一些亟待解决的问题和挑战，诸如怎样将经济增长转化为减贫的机会；如何将资源转化为发展的优势，而非陷入单一依赖的“魔咒”中；何以保持人口与经济增长的适度平衡，以使前者不至于抵消后者；如何推动政治制度走向成熟稳定，不至于引发政局动荡；怎么有效实施反恐战略；怎样实现自主发展；等等，都是非洲国家减贫、实现《2030年可持续发展议程》目标和《2063年议程》愿景难以回避的。现实表明，非洲国家实现减贫和自主发展需要内外多种因素的共同推动，内因是根本，外因是条件，外因通过内因而起作用。非洲国家应在解决好内部问题的基础上，创造有利的外部条件，以有效推动非洲实现减贫和自主发展。作为发展中国家，中国的减贫和现代化发展经验可为非洲提供重要外部参考。

4. African Countries’ Reference to China’s Development Experience Is Conducive to Breaking Through the Bottleneck of the “Single Option” of Modernization

4.非洲国家借鉴中国发展经验有利于突破现代化“单选项”瓶颈

The Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to successfully forge the path of Chinese-path modernization, creating a new form of human civilization and expanding the avenues for developing countries to achieve modernization. This provides African countries with a perspective and path distinct from the West in their exploration of modernization. On the one hand, it enables African countries to break through the “single option” of modernization, recognize the plurality of modernization models, and regain confidence from their past failures in imitating and copying Western development paths. On the other hand, it can compel major Western powers to change their influence on the concepts, models, and practices of Africa’s political and economic development, fostering a benign competitive and cooperative external environment beneficial to Africa’s development. If this virtuous cycle can be formed, African national governance will emerge from the vacillation and instability experienced over the past 60 years, break through the “permanent crossroads,” and truly establish political governance and development paths suited to Africa. China has completed the industrialization process that took developed countries several centuries in just a few decades, creating the two miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability. [4]4 The “two miracles” refer to rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, a standard formulation in CPC discourse to summarize China’s post-1978 reform and opening up achievements. It is precisely because of the recognition that Chinese-path modernization has certain referential value for Africa’s development that the trend of Africa “looking East” has quietly emerged, and learning from China’s development experience has gradually become a consensus in Africa. According to the latest survey data from the research institution Afrobarometer, which surveyed 26,000 people in 18 African countries between 2019 and 2020, a growing number of African countries have begun to show interest in China’s development model. When asked about the best model for their country’s future development, influenced by long-standing values, 32% of respondents chose “the United States,” but 23% of African people chose “China,” ranking second, while only 11% chose “former colonial power” and 11% chose “South Africa.” When respondents ranked external influencers on their country, China ranked first, with 59% of respondents believing that China had a positive political and economic impact on their country, higher than the 58% who believed the United States had a positive impact. Some scholars have conducted discourse analysis on news reports from mainstream African media between 2000 and 2017, examining African people’s perceptions and attitudes toward the “China model.” The results show that African media construct the China model not only as China’s unique development experience but also as a development model worthy of study and practice by African countries in areas such as politics and economics. The overall positivity of related reports was moderately high, reflecting the recognition and affirmation of the China model by African countries and peoples. The China model is more competitive in Africa than other models, and Africa aspires to promote its own economic development and social progress by drawing on the China model. These surveys and studies indicate the interest and appreciation of African countries and peoples in China’s development path, behind which lies their reflection on their own development difficulties and their new exploration of modernization models.

中国共产党领导中国人民成功走出中国式现代化道路，创造了人类文明新形态，拓展了发展中国家走向现代化的途径，为非洲国家探索现代化之路提供了区别于西方的视角与路径。一方面，能让非洲国家突破现代化“单选项”，认识到现代化模式的多元性，并从以往因袭模仿西方发展道路而失败的经历中重拾信心；另一方面，可以倒逼西方大国改变其对非洲政治经济发展的理念、模式和实践的影响，形成有益于非洲发展的良性竞争和外部合作环境。如果这一良性循环得以形成，非洲国家治理将走出此前60年所经历的徘徊与摇摆，突破“永远的十字路口”，真正确立适合非洲的政治治理和发展道路。中国仅用几十年时间就走完发达国家几百年走过的工业化历程，创造了经济快速发展和社会长期稳定两大奇迹。正是认识到中国式现代化道路对非洲发展具有一定的借鉴性，非洲“向东看”作为一种潮流悄然兴起，学习中国发展经验在非洲逐步成为共识。根据调查机构——非洲晴雨表在2019—2020年对非洲18个国家2.6万民众的最新调查数据，越来越多的非洲国家开始对中国的发展模式产生兴趣。在问及适合国家未来发展的最好模式时，因受长期以来的价值观影响，有32%的受访者选择“美国”，但23%的非洲民众选择了“中国”，位居第二，而只有11%的人选择“前殖民宗主国”和11%的人选择“南非”。而受访者在对本国的外部影响者进行排名时，中国排名第一，59%的受访者认为中国对本国的政治和经济产生了不同程度的积极影响，高于占比58%的认为美国对本国产生积极影响。有学者对2000—2017年间非洲主流媒体的新闻报道进行话语分析，考察非洲民众对“中国模式”的认知与态度。结果显示，非洲媒体将中国模式建构为不仅是中国独特的发展经验，也是值得非洲国家在政治和经济等领域学习和实践的发展模式。相关报道的积极程度总体偏中高，体现出非洲国家与人民对中国模式的认可与肯定。中国模式较其他模式在非洲更具竞争力，非洲渴望通过借鉴中国模式来促进自身经济发展和社会进步。这些调查和研究表明非洲国家与人民对中国发展道路的兴趣与赞赏，其背后是他们对自身发展困境的反思与对现代化模式的新探索。

III. The Implications of Chinese-Path Modernization for Africa

三、中国式现代化道路对非洲的启示

Nkolo Foé, a professor at the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon, stated during a visit to Yan’an that the achievements of Yan’an in poverty alleviation demonstrate that the path to modernization is not limited to the Western one alone; Chinese-path modernization provides a completely new option for Africa’s development. [5]5 Yan’an is a city in Shaanxi Province, China, known as the revolutionary base area of the CPC from 1935 to 1948, and is often associated with the “Yan’an spirit” of self-reliance and hard struggle. An African ambassador to China, upon concluding an inspection tour of Yan’an, remarked, “Chairman Mao put Marxism in the coarse cloth jacket of the peasant; we must dress the Yan’an spirit in the national costume of Africa.” This typically represents the thinking of insightful Africans on Chinese-path modernization based on their own countries’ development realities.

喀麦隆雅温得第一大学教授恩科洛·福埃（Nkolo Foé）在参观延安时表示，中国延安脱贫攻坚取得的成就表明实现现代化道路并非只有西方的一条道路，中国式现代化道路为非洲发展提供了一个全新的选择。非洲驻华大使在结束延安考察时谈道，“毛主席给马克思主义换上了农民的粗布短袄，我们要给延安精神穿上非洲的民族服装”。这典型地代表了非洲有识之士基于本国发展实际对中国式现代化道路的思考。

1. Choosing a Development Path Suited to One’s Own Conditions Based on National Realities

1.从国情出发选择适合自身的发展道路

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Our task is to comprehensively build a modern socialist country; of course, the modernization we build must have Chinese characteristics and conform to China’s actual conditions.” The enlightenment this offers to African countries exploring a path to modernization is: the design and development of a country’s political system must proceed from national conditions and from reality. Whether one chooses the capitalist road or the socialist road, development is the foundation and key to solving all of Africa’s problems, while independently formulating national development policies and unifying political consensus with the people’s interests are necessary conditions for successful development. Although Chinese-path modernization can provide a reference for African countries, there is no one-size-fits-all development model in the world; the model that suits a country’s own national conditions is the best model. African countries do not need to “look to the West” or “look to the East,” but rather to “look to development,” adopting an attitude of seeking truth from facts to find a development path suited to themselves.

习近平总书记指出：“我们的任务是全面建设社会主义现代化国家，当然我们建设的现代化必须是具有中国特色、符合中国实际的”。这对非洲国家探索现代化道路的启示是：设计和发展国家政治制度，要从国情出发，从实际出发。不论选择资本主义道路，还是社会主义道路，发展是解决非洲一切问题的基础和关键，而自主制定国家发展政策并将政治共识与人民利益相统一，则是成功发展的必要条件。虽然中国式现代化道路可为非洲国家提供借鉴，但世界上没有放之四海而皆准的发展模式，适合本国国情的模式才是最好的模式。非洲国家并不是要“向西看”或是“向东看”，而是要“向发展看”，采取实事求是的态度寻找一条适合自身的发展之路。

2. Adhering to a People-Centered Development Philosophy

2.坚持以人民为中心的发展思想

Chinese-path modernization is a people-centered modernization. The main goal and task of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era is to continuously meet the people’s aspirations for a better life, and its core is likewise serving the people. Serving the people necessarily requires adhering to a people-centered approach, and only by achieving common prosperity can the Chinese Communist Party’s purpose of serving the people be fundamentally put into practice. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Only development can safeguard the basic rights of the people. Only development can satisfy the people’s ardent longing for a better life.” During the 2021 Yan’an tour for African ambassadors to China, the Zimbabwean ambassador to China exclaimed: “The close ties the Chinese Communist Party maintains with the masses of the people are the key to the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to lead the Chinese people to success, ensuring that the country’s governance serves the people.” Some African scholars have even summarized this concept of the Chinese Communist Party as a people-centered model, pointing out that the Chinese Communist Party is a party of the people, not an elite party. The commitment to serving the people has won broad support from the Chinese people, which is full affirmation of its continuous work for the people over the 100 years since its founding. Therefore, African countries, whether ruling parties or opposition parties, should learn from the Chinese Communist Party’s experience of putting the people’s needs and wishes first and creating a better political atmosphere for development. People are the subjects of all productive activities. One of the visions of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 is to build “an Africa that is people-centered and relies on people for development, with special attention to African women, youth, and children.” This coincides with the people-centered concept in China’s modernization construction. If African country leaders and ruling parties can truly serve the people and adhere to a people-centered philosophy, the enthusiasm of African people to participate in poverty reduction and development will surely rise, their endogenous driving force will surely become strong, and achieving the goals of poverty reduction and development will have a fundamental guarantee.

中国式现代化道路是以人民为中心的现代化。新时代中国特色社会主义的主要目标和任务是不断满足人民群众对美好生活的向往，其核心同样是为人民服务。为人民服务就必须坚持以人民为中心，而只有实现共同富裕，才能从根本上践行中国共产党为人民服务的宗旨。习近平总书记指出：“唯有发展，才能保障人民的基本权利。唯有发展，才能满足人民对美好生活的热切向往。”在2021年非洲驻华大使延安行活动中，津巴布韦驻华大使就感叹道：“中国共产党与人民群众保持的密切联系是中国共产党能够带领中国人民走向成功的关键，保证了国家的治理服务于人民。”甚至有非洲学者将中国共产党的这一理念总结为以人民为中心的模式，指出中国共产党是人民的政党，而不是精英政党。为人民服务的承诺赢得了中国人民的广泛支持，这是对其建党100年来持续为人民所做工作的充分肯定。因而，非洲国家，无论是执政党还是反对党，都应学习中国共产党将人民的需要和愿望放在首位、为发展营造更好政治氛围这一经验。人是一切生产活动的主体。非盟《2063年议程》的愿景之一就是建设“一个以人为本、依靠人实现发展的非洲，特别是要关注非洲的妇女、青少年和儿童”。这与中国现代化建设中以人为本的理念是不谋而合的。如果非洲国家领导人和执政党能够真正做到为人民服务和坚持以人民为中心的思想，非洲民众参与减贫和发展的积极性就一定会高涨起来，内生动力就一定会强劲起来，实现减贫发展目标就有了根本保障。

3. Pursuing a Development Pattern of “Win-Win” between Economic Development and Environmental Protection

3.追求经济发展与环境保护“双赢”的发展格局

As an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” has become a consensus of the Chinese Communist Party and the whole of Chinese society, and the concept of green development has gradually taken root in people’s hearts. Chinese-path ecological modernization transcends the development model of “pollute first, treat later” in the Western modernization process, exploring a path of modernization in which humans and nature coexist harmoniously, achieving a “win-win” between economic development and environmental protection. For example, in the Yan’an battle against poverty, there was no trade-off between economic development and environmental protection; instead, through measures such as compensation for returning farmland to forest, compensation for ecological benefits, and increasing income through labor poverty alleviation, farmers were guaranteed stable incomes, thereby forging a path of green and sustainable development. Generally speaking, the degree of development is often proportional to environmental protection. Yet in reality, Africa, which has not undergone large-scale development, currently faces very prominent environmental and ecosystem problems, such as severe land desertification and soil erosion, shortages of potable water and agricultural water resources, sharp reductions in forest resources, and widespread impacts of climate change. From a social environment perspective, the era of Africa’s development today is the 21st century, and its external environment determines that Africa’s development must be green and sustainable.

作为习近平生态文明思想的重要内容，“绿水青山就是金山银山”已经成为中国共产党与中国全社会的共识，绿色发展理念逐步深入人心。中国式生态现代化超越了西方现代化进程中先污染后治理的发展模式，探索出了一条人与自然和谐共生的现代化之路，实现了经济发展与环境保护的“双赢”。比如，延安脱贫攻坚战中就没有在经济发展与环境保护之间进行取舍，而是通过退耕还林补偿、生态效益补偿、劳务扶贫增收等方式，保证农民有稳定收入，从而走出一条绿色可持续发展之路。一般来说，发展程度与环境保护往往成正比。但实际上并没有经过大规模开发的非洲，当前的环境和生态系统问题却十分突出，诸如土地荒漠化现象和水土流失严重，可饮用水及农业水资源短缺，森林资源急剧减少，气候变化影响面广，等等。从社会环境看，现今非洲发展的时代是21世纪，其外部环境决定了非洲发展必须是绿色可持续发展。

4. Taking Pan-Africanism as a Spiritual Guide and Seeking Independent Development

4.以泛非主义为精神指引、谋求独立自主发展

Some scholars, when summarizing the literature on modernization studies, have categorized the analytical approaches of modernization research into two basic types: the first emphasizes models of social organization, while the second emphasizes models of culture and ideology. The former values modes of organization and action, whereas the latter holds that thought and emotion have the greatest significance. This indicates that modernization should not be seen as a purely given “objective fact” completely independent of the subjective consciousness of individual social members, but rather as a product subjectively constructed by certain relevant individual social members; in other words, modernization contains a kind of “fashion” or “spirit.” If the Western path of modernization contains a so-called “capitalist spirit,” then the Sinicized Marxism that includes Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of the “Three Represents,” the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the spiritual guide and ideological guarantee for China’s exploration of a modernization path. During their visit to Yan’an, African ambassadors to China highly praised the important role of the Yan’an spirit of “self-reliance and hard struggle” in China’s victory in the battle against poverty and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, believing that the independence and self-reliance advocated by the Yan’an spirit is precisely what African countries need; only by understanding the Yan’an spirit can one truly comprehend the Chinese Communist Party and China’s development miracle.

有学者在总结现代化研究的文献时，将现代化研究的分析思路概括为两种基本类型：第一种思路强调社会组织的模式,第二种思路则强调文化和思想意识的模式。前者重视组织和行动的方式，后者却认为思想和情感具有最重要的意义。这表明现代化不应被看作一种完全独立于社会成员个人主观意识的、纯粹给定的“客观事实”，而应被看作一种由某些相关的社会成员个人主观建构的产物，换言之，现代化蕴含着一种“风尚”或“精神”。如果说西方现代化道路蕴含着所谓的“资本主义精神”，那么，中国化的马克思主义所包含的毛泽东思想、邓小平理论、“三个代表”重要思想、科学发展观和习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想就是中国探索现代化道路的精神指引和思想保障。非洲驻华大使们在访问延安时，高度称赞“自力更生，艰苦奋斗”的延安精神在中国脱贫攻坚战胜利与中华民族伟大复兴中的重要作用，认为延安精神倡导的独立自主正是非洲国家所需要的，只有读懂了延安精神，才能真正理解中国共产党与中国的发展奇迹。

The development of any country cannot be separated from strong spiritual guidance. Pan-Africanism, which grew out of the movement against racism and colonialism in the early 20th century, with its core of eliminating colonialism, achieving national self-determination, promoting African unity, and improving people’s livelihoods, should likewise become the spiritual core for African countries striving for national independence and achieving African unity, independent development, and modernization. Pan-Africanism is Africa’s precious spiritual wealth; its spiritual essence is confidence, self-reliance, and self-strengthening, and its pursued goals are unity, development, and revitalization. This is the direction of Africa’s progress and the trend of the times. The Organization of African Unity, established in 1963, and the African Union, established in 2002, both founded on the basis of Pan-Africanism, take as their purposes achieving the sovereign independence of African countries, the unity of the African continent, and promoting the independent development of African countries and the process of African continental integration. The African Union’s Agenda 2063 likewise takes Pan-Africanism as its spiritual core, clearly proposing to build an Africa with “a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics” and “to continue the Pan-Africanist ideal.”

任何一个国家的发展一刻也离不开强大的精神引领。自20世纪初在反对种族主义和殖民主义运动中孕育成长的，以消除殖民主义、实现民族自决、促进非洲团结和改善人民生活为核心的“泛非主义”，同样应成为非洲国家争取民族独立，实现非洲统一、自主发展与现代化的精神内核。泛非主义是非洲宝贵的精神财富，其精神实质是自信、自立、自强，其追求的目标是团结、发展、振兴，这是非洲前进的方向，也是时代发展的潮流。建立在泛非主义基础上，分别成立于1963年和2002年的非洲统一组织和非洲联盟，都以实现非洲国家主权独立、非洲大陆统一和促进非洲国家自主发展、非洲大陆一体化进程为宗旨。非盟《2063年议程》同样以泛非主义为精神内核，明确提出要建设一个“具有强烈文化认同的非洲共同遗产、价值观和伦理”与“继续泛非主义理想”的非洲。

Pan-Africanism is the patriotism of the African continent. The spirit of Pan-Africanism is connected to and consistent with the Chinese nation’s spirit of unyielding perseverance and ceaseless self-improvement. Strengthening the exchange and mutual learning between the spirit embodied in the Chinese-path modernization road and Pan-Africanism is not only an inherent part of China-Africa civilizational exchange and mutual learning, but will also inevitably provide new ideas for developing countries’ poverty alleviation, common development, and win-win cooperation, and provide a new paradigm for building a community with a shared future for mankind. David Monyae, director of the Africa-China Research Center at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, compared China’s “common prosperity” thought with the traditional African Ubuntu thought, believing that the two have many common points: fundamentally, both aim to improve the status of the poor and protect distribution and welfare plans for the poor; both support and emphasize the spirit and value of hard work; collectivism and compassion are important components of both; and both hold a wary attitude toward the Western free-market system. Monyae believes that China’s common prosperity thought and Africa’s Ubuntu cultural thought have commonalities, providing a common foundation for a stronger China-Africa relationship and offering Africa and the world an opportunity to shift direction from liberal capitalism. The significance of common prosperity thought for Africa lies in its ability to provide the latter with a proven new program and new experience, supported by the belief in serving the people under arduous and impoverished conditions, that has successfully achieved poverty alleviation and moved toward sustainable development. It can provide a reference for Africa’s modernization exploration and practice, thereby enabling it to derive new contemporary connotations and guide Africa toward a path of independent development.

泛非主义就是非洲大陆的爱国主义。泛非主义精神同中华民族百折不挠、自强不息的精神是相通的、一致的。加强中国式现代化道路蕴含的精神与泛非主义的交流互鉴，不仅是中非文明交流互鉴的题中应有之义，而且必将为发展中国家的减贫脱贫、共同发展与合作共赢提供新思路，为构建人类命运共同体提供新范式。南非约翰内斯堡大学非洲—中国研究中心主任戴维·蒙亚埃（David Monyae）对比了中国的“共同富裕”思想与非洲传统的乌班图（Ubutu）思想，认为两者具有很多共同点：从根本上，两者都旨在提高穷人地位和保护穷人的分配和福利计划，都支持并强调辛勤工作的精神和价值，集体主义和同情心是两者的重要组成部分，都对西方自由市场体系抱有警戒的态度。蒙亚埃认为，中国的共同富裕思想与非洲的乌班图文化思想有相通之处，为更强大的中非关系提供了共同基础，为非洲和世界提供了一个从自由资本主义转变方向的机会。共同富裕思想对于非洲的意义在于，能够为后者提供一个经过实践证明的、在艰苦和贫困条件下以为人民服务信念为支撑、成功实现脱贫并迈向可持续发展的新纲领与新经验，能够为非洲现代化探索实践提供借鉴，从而使其衍生出新的时代内涵，指引非洲走向一条独立自主发展之路。

5. Adhere to Handling the Relationship between Reform, Development, and Stability Well, and Take the Path of Peaceful Development

5.坚持处理好改革发展稳定的关系、走和平发展之路

The relationship between reform, development, and stability has always governed the entire process of China’s modernization. The success of the Chinese-path modernization road is closely related to correctly handling the relationship between reform, development, and stability. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have always attached great importance to this relationship, consistently taking “adhering to the principle that stability overrides everything and correctly handling the relationship between reform, development, and stability” as one of the basic experiences that the Party must uphold in leading the people in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is precisely by handling the relationship between reform, development, and stability well that China has been able to calmly respond to various tests and challenges, overcome a series of difficulties and risks, keep socialism with Chinese characteristics moving in the right direction, and achieve great accomplishments in building socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. This experience is undoubtedly enlightening for African countries facing multiple challenges such as weak governance capacity, irrational economic structures, terrorism, armed conflict, and political instability. Most Western modernization paths have been linked to expansionism and hegemonism, while China has opened up a modernization path that safeguards peaceful development and promotes win-win cooperation. As a builder of world peace, a contributor to global governance, and a defender of the international order, China unswervingly takes the path of peaceful development and also hopes that all countries in the world will jointly take the path of peaceful development. History and practice have proven that this path is not only correct and passable, but also stable and good.

改革发展稳定之间的关系，始终总揽着中国现代化的进程。中国式现代化道路的成功，与正确处理改革发展稳定的关系息息相关。中国共产党和中国政府一直高度重视这一关系，始终把“坚持稳定压倒一切的方针，正确处理改革发展稳定的关系”作为党领导人民进行中国特色社会主义建设必须坚持的基本经验之一。正是处理好了改革发展稳定的关系，中国才能从容应对各种考验和挑战，战胜了一系列困难和风险，使得中国特色社会主义始终朝着正确的方向前行，并取得新时代中国特色社会主义建设的伟大成就。这一经验对于面临治理能力较弱、经济结构不合理、恐怖主义、武装冲突、政局动荡等多种挑战的非洲国家而言，无疑具有启示性。西方的现代化之路大多是与扩张主义、霸权主义联系在一起的，而中国则开辟了一条维护和平发展、促进合作共赢的现代化道路。作为世界和平的建设者、全球治理的贡献者和国际秩序的维护者，中国坚定不移走和平发展道路，也希望世界各国共同走和平发展道路。历史和实践已经证明，这条路不仅走得对、走得通，而且走得稳、走得好。

The 20th century was a century in which China and Africa shared a common destiny, forging a deep friendship of breathing the same air, sharing the same fate, and connecting heart to heart. The 21st century will be a century in which China and Africa develop together. In this century, the two great civilizations of China and Africa will jointly plan a major development strategy, realize their respective great dreams, and build an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future. Currently, China-Africa civilizational mutual learning has entered the level of conceptual exchange. It is timely for both sides to strengthen the sharing of poverty alleviation experience and modernization theory and practice experience. This not only meets the wishes of the Chinese and African peoples but also meets the needs of the current era. The successful opening of the Chinese-path modernization road declares to the world that the era of “remaking the world in the Western image” has ended, that the singular and biased notion of “modernization = Westernization” has ended, and that developing countries have finally broken free from the constraints and control of Western modernity logic and embarked on a new path of autonomous modernization. Human history is not a simple linear process; each society follows its own laws of development and evolution, presenting diverse development directions and paths. The Western-promoted modernization ideology with hegemonic thinking has become outdated. What path will Africa’s modernization take? Perhaps the Chinese-path modernization road can provide some useful inspiration for African friends who possess “ancient civilizations,” “like new things,” and “have super creativity,” allowing Africa to endow modernization with more connotations based on its own conditions and values.

20世纪是中国与非洲共命运的世纪，中非缔结下同呼吸、共命运、心连心的深厚友谊，21世纪将是中国与非洲同发展的世纪，中非两大文明将在这个世纪共谋发展大计，实现各自的伟大梦想，构建更加紧密的中非命运共同体。目前，中非文明互鉴进入理念交流的层次，双方加强减贫经验、现代化理论与实践经验的分享正当其时，这不仅符合中非人民的心愿，也符合当今的时代需求。中国式现代化道路的成功开辟，向世界宣告了“照西方的样子改造世界”的时代已经结束，宣告了“现代化=西方化”的单一与偏颇，宣告了发展中国家终于摆脱西方现代性逻辑的束缚与控制，走上了自主现代化的新道路。人类历史并不是简单的线性进程，各个社会都遵循着自身的发展规律演进，呈现出多元的发展方向和道路，西方倡导的带有霸权思维的现代化意识形态已经过时。非洲的现代化会采取何种路径呢？也许中国式现代化道路能为拥有“古老文明”“喜欢新鲜事物”“拥有超强创造力”的非洲朋友提供些许有益启示，让非洲赋予现代化更多基于自身条件和价值观的内涵。

(Author’s biography: Li Xinfeng, professor at the School of International Politics and Economics, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Executive Dean and Researcher of the China-Africa Institute)

（作者简介：李新烽，中国社会科学院大学国际政治经济学院教授，中国非洲研究院执行院长、研究员）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心