The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-African Cooperation (FOCAC) held in 2006, the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of diplomatic ties between New China and Africa, will certainly bring more golden opportunities for bilateral trade and investment between both sides. Chinese President Hu Jintao announced a package of major assistance, investment, trade and other key cooperation measures with Africa in an effort to forge a new type of strategic partnership in his opening address at the FOCAC Beijing Summit. The Beijing Declaration (2006) and Beijing Action Plan (2007-2009)[10] subsequently adopted by the Summit reaffirmed or reiterated Hu''s measures and made them more concrete and feasible.[11]
The 2006 Beijing Summit has inspired more interest from Chinese enterprises to invest in Africa and a series of activities have been sponsored in China to implement the Beijing Action Plan. On March 14, the Chinese State Council approved the establishment of the China-Africa Development Fund, which will be used to support African countries'' agriculture, manufacture, energy sector, transportation, etc. and the development of Chinese enterprises in Africa. On May 16 and 17, 2007, the annual board meeting of the African Development Bank was held in Shanghai, the first time for it to be held in Asia. Themed “Africa and Asia: Partners in Development”, the meeting focused on infrastructure development in Africa, regional integrity and poverty relief. Just before the meeting, the African/Chinese Enterprises Forum focusing on African investment was held in Shanghai on May 14 under the joint sponsorship of South African Standard Bank and China Export＆Insurance Company. There are also some other activities organized by public or private institutions in China to provide guidelines to Chinese enterprises for investing in Africa.[12] All these efforts have created a practical result: in the first half of the year 2007, direct investment to Africa from China reached US＄480 million, and newly signed labor contracts with African countries are worth US＄11.27 billion.[13]
Most of these measures and efforts are political and economic in nature, rarely addressing the legal problems arising out of these bilateral business transactions. In my opinion, this does not go far enough for the sound development of mutual trade and investment. A better understanding of the legal system, especially the commercial law, in the host country can strengthen the investors'' confidence in investing in it. As Kalidou Gadio, chief counsel for the African Development Bank, once vividly said, “If I know the law, you know the law, and you know I know the law, that is half the battle.”[14] Many people in China have expressed concern about Chinese investors'' poor knowledge of the law in the African host county; they suggest that African law research in China be emphasized and a frequent and regular exchange of law between both sides be set up so that people from both sides can have a better understanding of each other''s laws.
II.The Exchange of Law between China and Africa
African studies in New China began in the 1960s. In the early 1960s when meeting with African guests, the late Chairman Mao said that he didn''t know much about the African situation, and suggested that an African Studies institute be set up for the research of African history, geography, socio-economy, etc.[15] Consequently, some African institutes were established in the Chinese Academy of Social Science, Beijing University, Xiangtan University, Nanjing University, etc. The early research in these institutes covers mainly African history and politics, especially the liberation movement in African countries. Since China''s reform and opening policy, many Chinese African institutes and scholars shifted their research into African economy, culture, education. There was no institute specially devoted to African law studies until the African Law Institute was set up in Xiangtan University in 1998.
