TICAD and FOCAC Summit Diplomacy: Similarities and Differences

At the end of the last century, Japan opened an African “chapter” in its foreign policy, which was supported by the establishment of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in 1993. Since the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000, the increase in China's economic, political, and humanitarian engagement in Africa has grown. China’s FOCAC is now perhaps the most important of the foreign summits in Africa. TICAD and FOCAC provide important platforms for direct interactions between the parties. The attractiveness of their economic and political system has turned Japan and China into influential powers across Africa. Tokyo and Beijing are building infrastructure all over the continent, offering scholarship, training African students, andfunding different initiatives. Japan and China are both interested in realizing their national interests, which consist in gaining economic benefits, as well as creating a positive image abroad, and Africa is no exception. Japan and China are both playing an increasingly important role in Africa's future. As China’s Belt and Road Initiative progresses and interaction between the Chinese and African parties expands, the African continent will become increasingly important for strengthening the positions of Japan and other countries there.