On May 7, 2021, a book talk on Coevolutionary Pragmatism: Approaches and Impacts of China-Africa Economic Cooperation by TANG Xiaoyang was held in the Dalio Auditorium, Schwarzman College. Tang is a China Forum Expert, Resident Scholar at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, and Associate Professor of International Relations at Tsinghua University. H. E. Mr. Rahamtalla M. Osman, Permanent Representative of the African Union to China, attended the event, which was jointly organized by the China Forum under the Center for International Security and Strategy, the Department of International Relations, and the Graduate Student Union of the School of Social Sciences, all at Tsinghua University. Ms. HAN Hua, Executive Committee Member of the China Forum, presided over the session.

Professor Tang exchanged views with close to 100 students on Africa’s growth challenges, China-Africa cooperation, and a pragmatic approach to sustainable development.

China-Africa cooperation has been delivered through a pluralistic, flexible and pragmatic approach, and has seen remarkable quality boosts within the framework of “coevolutionary pragmatism”, Professor Tang said. In this connection, his new book strives to explore the drivers of such fruitful collaborations as well as their approaches and impacts.

Regarding Africa-China relations, H. E. Mr. Rahamtalla M. Osman noted that it is a shared goal for both sides to achieve mutually beneficial development through dialogue and practical cooperation.

Further on, Professor Tang touched on developing countries’ industrialization predicament, pointing out that the key to the “chicken or the egg causality dilemma” lies in a common goal of sustainable development that will engage all market actors—circular interactions and flexible market-oriented experiments will empower collaborations among economic players and support the achievement of overall development goals.

Tang’s new book is published by Cambridge University Press.