The 2026 China–South Africa Human Rights Seminar was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on August 27. Under the theme “Common Modernization and Human Rights Development,” participants engaged in in-depth discussions on such topics as China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and the shared right to development under new circumstances, human rights protection amid the green transition, and advancing human rights through modernized social governance. The seminar reached broad consensus on these issues.

Mpe Nthabiseng Malefane, acting chief director of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Division of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, said that international peace and security are key factors in realizing the right to development. Countries of the Global South are raising important questions about development, including how development can contribute to building a secure, just and sustainable international order. When discussing the vision set out in the Declaration on the Right to Development, it must be emphasized that development is not merely an aspiration, but an essential requirement for achieving peace and stability and upholding human dignity.

Starting May 1 this year, China fully implemented a zero-tariff policy for imports from all 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, providing South Africa’s manufacturing and processing industries with stable, long-term market expectations. David Monyae, director of the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, said that cooperation between the two sides in the next stage should focus on industrialization, technological innovation, and increasing added value.

Sizo Nkala, a senior researcher at the University of Johannesburg, said, “China’s experience in advancing governance modernization provides an important reference for Africa and the rest of the world in exploring pathways to realizing the right to development.” Nqala noted that in the process of promoting human rights, advancing governance modernization is not an option but an essential path forward.