At the international level, human rights can be defined as universal, inalienable rights that are inherent to all humans everywhere. However, human rights can be interpreted and valued differently...Show moreAt the international level, human rights can be defined as universal, inalienable rights that are inherent to all humans everywhere. However, human rights can be interpreted and valued differently across various cultures. Conceptualizations of human rights, thus, differ across places and times. Prior to the Forum on China Africa Cooperation Summit of 2006, conceptualizations of human rights on the African continent primarily revolved around the promotion of political and socio economic integration of the continent; the protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity; the eradication of (neo-)colonialism; and the promotion of peace, security and stability. Conceptualizations of human rights in China primarily revolved around the advancement of the human rights to subsistence and development over virtually any other human right. The resolutions taken by China during the Summit, which had the main objective of promoting the cooperation between itself and African countries, have formalized and intensified China-Africa relations significantly. In the years following the Summit, conceptualizations of human rights on the African continent primarily revolved around the promotion of democratization, development, and emancipation. Conceptualizations of human rights in China continued to primarily revolve around the advancement of the human rights to subsistence and development. In conclusion, the Summit has enabled China to socialize Africa with regard to human rights conceptualizations to a certain extent, through persuasion, social-back-patting and social influence. The measures taken at the Summit have enabled China to transmit the message that the human right to development is fundamentally important and maintain a positive image of itself on the African continent. Consequently, in part, a converging trend in Chinese and African human rights conceptualizations can be observed. Countering that, however, an in part diverging trend in this regard can be observed as well. China’s influence on African conceptualizations of human rights should, thus, neither be overstated nor underestimated for future reference.Show less
