Inclusive Society Institute presents at the Global South Media and Think Tank forum China-Africa Conference, held in South Africa, 12-14 november 2025

The Global South Media and Think Tank Forum China-Africa Partnership conference opened on the Thursday 14^th November 2025. The conference was held to explore ways to strengthen cooperation, to further promote common ways for shared global governance and to impart exchanges of knowledge by amplifying the Global South’s collective voice. The forum brought together diplomats, academics, journalists and policymakers from across Africa and China to discuss the evolving partnership and its role in reshaping international institutions under the theme: "Reforming Global Governance: New Roles and Visions for China-Africa Cooperation."

The event was attended by key panelists, including Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to South Africa, Wu Peng; the Chairman of Independent Media and co-chair of the BRICS Media Forum, Dr Iqbal Survé; Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero; Consul General of China in Johannesburg, Pan Qingjiang; Lu Yansong, Editor-in-Chief of Xinhua News Agency and African Union Director of Information and Communication, Leslie Richer.The two-day conference, co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency, the African Union (AU) and South Africa's Independent Media, among other partners, gathered more than 200 representatives from over 160 media outlets, think tanks, government organizations and other institutions from China and 41 African countries, as well as the AU.

Inclusive Society Institute, Advisory Council Member Ms. Nondumiso Alice Sithole was requested to be a panelist member and represented the Institute at the forum. The institute has become a key strategic partner in the South Africa and is African think-tank community.

Ms. Sithole’s speech highlighted aspects on “the core pathways for China and Africa to jointly advance modernization, their global contributions and worldwide impact”. She delivered a speech which commended the intergovernmental relations between the two sides, the initiatives by China in supporting the African countries as a whole, specifically when it comes to the continent progressing towards better development goals. However she also drew attention to the trade deficit and proposed some solutions as to how it can be addressed by both sides, one being commodity beneficiation to occur on the African continent before export. Lastly, she emphasized the importance of the two sides continuing to explore appropriate partnership models that are fit for purpose in so far as it concerns the respective partner-countries individually.