At 9:30 AM on November 10, 2026, diplomats, regional leaders, and policy experts gathered at the China National Convention Center for the Forum on China –Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) High-Level Seminar on Peace and Security to address a fundamental shift in regional stability strategies: military force alone cannot secure lasting peace.
The seminar highlighted how insecurity touches daily lives in vastly different ways, from a farmer unable to safely work his fields due to rural violence, to a child whose school has been shuttered by local conflict, to a university graduate trapped in economic stagnation.
To address these interconnected challenges, delegates emphasized that enduring stability requires pairing physical protection with the economic and social conditions necessary for individuals to live with dignity.
Opening the summit, Director-General of African Affairs at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Wu Peng, underscored the necessity of a holistic approach to security. ”Security cannot be divorced from development,” Ambassador Wu stated during his keynote address. “When a young person lacks economic opportunity or a farmer is displaced from their land, vulnerability increases.
China–Africa cooperation is expanding its scope to ensure that peacebuilding measures directly address these socio-economic realities.” Dr. Bankole Adeoye, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, reinforced this perspective by emphasizing that disarmament must be accompanied by grassroots development.
“Silencing the guns in Africa is not merely about disarmament; it is about restoring livelihoods, reopening schools, and creating jobs for our youth,” Dr. Adeoye remarked. “Our partnership with China must continue to integrate infrastructure, agriculture, and educational investments directly into our peace and security frameworks.”
Rather than relying strictly on conventional security measures, the joint action plan unveiled at the conclusion of the seminar embeds economic resilience directly into peacebuilding policy.
To safeguard agricultural livelihoods, the initiative prioritizes the establishment of safe farming zones and the construction of protective rural infrastructure, ensuring that food supply chains remain uninterrupted even in historically volatile regions.
In educational sectors, the framework channels funding into community-led protection programs alongside modern vocational training centers, allowing children to safely resume their studies while equipping older youth with practical, market-ready skills.
Finally, the strategic plan directs foreign direct investment into targeted job-creation projects across post-conflict areas, offering viable economic pathways to young demographics to address the root causes of civil unrest.
By embedding economic opportunity and human dignity into the core of security negotiations, the China, Africa framework aims to establish a sustainable model for regional peace, one where community safety and human potential reinforce each other.
