The 7th African Development Conference (TICAD 7) adopted a summit declaration summarizing the results and closed. The declaration mentions for the first time TICAD's declaration of the “free and open Indo-Pacific” concept that Japan is promoting with China in mind. It became the content that checks China, which has increased influence in Africa.
The summit declaration emphasizes the importance of rule-based ocean order. Regarding the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” concept, he said “Beware of favor”. According to officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, support from West African countries that do not face the Indian Ocean has also been expressed because they are facing problems such as illegal Chinese operations in the Atlantic.
The theme of TICAD was “debt trap”, which makes it impossible to repay due to excessive lending by China, making it impossible to ignore China's intentions.
The summit declaration “welcomes” the “G20 Principles for High-quality Infrastructure Investment” confirmed at the G20 Summit Meeting in Osaka in June. This principle indirectly checks China because the importance of ensuring fiscal soundness is pointed out when investing in infrastructure in foreign countries.
At the press conference after the closing, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pointed out that China's presence is “an important actor for African development”, but “the debt burden of the target countries must not be excessive” . (Yuka Takeshita)