The countries of East Africa and the Gulf, bordering the 2,200km length of the Red Sea, share close geographical, historical, cultural, and political links. Recent developments, however, point to a revival of this relations.

As Africa’s oldest trading partner, the Gulf has culture and capital on its side—and it is leveraging both to expand investment. Although Middle East investments have traditionally concentrated on North Africa, today’s investors are moving further south, with countries like the U.A.E. leading the charge.

The dominant narrative remains that China’s interest in Africa is confined to natural resources. While there is some merit to this viewpoint, African governments need to respond with actionable policies that leverage economic development. In other words, can China serve as a catalytic force in a nation’s industrialisation journey?

Africa will not, however, exist in a vacuum. Its nations must be willing and able to transform with the changing tides. Such transformation should be grounded in a shrewd and effective leadership devoid of traditional ways of thinking.

China’s relationship with Africa is usually viewed through the relatively narrow lens of infrastructure, construction, energy, and mining. However, Sino-African relations have the potential to be multifaceted. Higher education is one sector that would benefit significantly from greater cross-fertilisation between China and Africa.

For Africa, it seems that it is possible to decouple socio-political and economic conditions when following FDI around the continent. Governments can, in order to attract FDI, use policies and incentives to compensate for systemic problems they may be either unwilling or unable to address.

Rather than see that fall in investments as a threat to Africa's development as it first appears, research and conversations with businesses in China and Africa reveal that the recent decline in Chinese investments could actually completely transform the economic relationship for the better. Xi's statement and this new plan, announced at the second annual Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, could actually be the first signs of this change.