African MPs Meet in Beijing to Strengthen Parliamentary Role in China–Africa Cooperation

PAP’s Kevin Lukeeram calls for stronger legislative cooperation at a Beijing seminar focused on China–Africa partnerships, industrialization and Agenda 2063.

Beijing, China — African parliamentarians participating in a seminar scheduled for 6–12 November 2026 in Beijing have been urged to turn exchanges with China into practical cooperation that strengthens legislative institutions, supports industrial development and delivers benefits to citizens.

In his opening address, Hon. Kevin C. Lukeeram, Chairperson of the Pan-African Parliament’s Committee on Justice and Human Rights and leader of its delegation, called for structured cooperation between China’s National People’s Congress, PAP and national legislatures across Africa.

The seminar is being held under the theme “Deepening Exchanges and Mutual Learning Between Legislative Bodies and Advancing the Ten China-Africa Partnership Actions.” PAP is represented by Hon. Kevin C. Lukeeram and Hon. Aisha Adams (First Vice President of the Women's Caucus)

Lukeeram thanked the Chinese Government and the National People’s Congress for organizing and funding the programme, describing the initiative as an investment in institutional capacity, knowledge sharing and relations between the two sides.

Giving parliaments a stronger role in development partnerships

A central message of the address was that parliamentarians have a responsibility to ensure that international development commitments produce meaningful improvements in people’s lives.

“They provide the legislative and oversight frameworks necessary to ensure that development commitments translate into tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens,” Lukeeram said of parliaments.

His remarks place legislative institutions within the implementation of China–Africa cooperation. Development partnerships generate policy commitments and projects; parliamentary scrutiny can help examine their objectives, resource implications and results.

For participating lawmakers, the seminar offers an opportunity to consider how legislation, committee work and oversight can support implementation while keeping citizens’ interests central to cooperation.

Lukeeram also recalled PAP’s representative purpose within the African Union, stressing parliamentarians’ responsibility to express the hopes and aspirations of the people they serve.

Learning from China’s development experience

According to the opening address, the seminar is intended to deepen African parliamentarians’ understanding of China’s legislative processes, governance arrangements and development experience.

Lukeeram identified long-term planning, infrastructure investment, industrialization, poverty reduction, technological advancement, agricultural modernization and human capital development as areas offering lessons for Africa.

The relevance of these exchanges lies in how participating legislatures assess those experiences against their own countries’ needs and institutional circumstances. Practical learning could inform questions about policy continuity, implementation capacity and the relationship between public investment and development outcomes.

For example, discussions on infrastructure and industrial development can help parliamentarians examine whether investment programmes connect producers to markets, support domestic enterprises and create lasting employment. Exchanges on agricultural modernization can inform scrutiny of policies intended to improve productivity, rural incomes and food security.

The address did not provide a detailed daily programme or identify specific study visits. Its emphasis was on the seminar’s broader purpose: connecting institutional learning with Africa’s development priorities.

Advancing the China–Africa partnership agenda

Lukeeram situated the gathering within the Ten China–Africa Partnership Actions announced at the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

He highlighted their coverage of trade, industrial cooperation, connectivity, health, agriculture, livelihoods, green development, security and exchanges between peoples and institutions.

The FOCAC Beijing Action Plan for 2025–2027 provides a specific basis for parliamentary engagement. Section 3.2.3 supports exchanges among legislative leaders, committees, members and administrative offices, alongside bilateral and multilateral workshops. Section 3.2.4 expressly provides for stronger interaction between the National People’s Congress and African regional parliamentary organizations, including PAP and the African Parliamentary Union.

Lukeeram welcomed those commitments and expressed the hope that the seminar would help advance their implementation.

From raw materials to industrial value chains

The PAP delegation leader argued that cooperation should support a shift in Africa’s economic position, including greater processing, manufacturing and participation in global value chains.

“We must move from exporting raw materials to processing and manufacturing,” he said.

He identified infrastructure deficits, unemployment, industrial underdevelopment, technological dependence, fragmented markets and limited value addition as challenges that must be addressed to advance Agenda 2063.

Against that background, he pointed to infrastructure development, technology transfer, industrial value chains, skills development and market access as areas where cooperation with China could support African priorities.

His remarks set out a development test for the partnership: whether it helps African economies build productive capacity, create opportunities for young people and retain greater value from their resources.

For parliamentary institutions, these objectives raise practical oversight questions about local employment, skills acquisition, domestic supplier participation and the durability of technology transfer.

Supporting continental integration

Lukeeram also linked the engagement to the African Continental Free Trade Area, presenting it as a platform for moving from fragmented national markets towards an integrated continental economy.

For parliaments, the implications include examining how national policy and legislative frameworks support cross-border trade, investment and productive activity.

He described PAP’s contribution in terms of promoting continental integration, legislative harmonization and parliamentary diplomacy, and supporting scrutiny of African Union policies and programmes.

The seminar, he said, should therefore help identify practical cooperation among the National People’s Congress, PAP and African national legislatures.

Such cooperation could help participating institutions exchange research, strengthen committee expertise and examine common legislative challenges affecting continental development.

Building sustained institutional cooperation

Lukeeram presented Africa’s relationship with China within the context of an evolving international order, arguing that a more multipolar world offers opportunities to diversify partnerships and strengthen Africa’s global voice.

He advocated relations founded on sovereign equality, mutual respect, fairness and shared prosperity.

The practical ambition outlined in his address is a partnership in which African resources support African industrial development, young people benefit from knowledge and technology transfer, and institutions become more effective.

For the Beijing seminar, the next measure of progress will be how participants translate those objectives into continuing exchanges, stronger parliamentary capacity and follow-up work in their respective institutions.