Meeting the Ambassador of Benin to China with the Tsinghua Global Youth Dialogue

On Wednesday 8 July 2026, H.E. Mr. Franck Adjagba, Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to the People's Republic of China, received a cohort of delegates of the Fourth Tsinghua Global Youth Dialogue (TGYD) at the Embassy of Benin in Beijing. I was part of that cohort.

TGYD is organised by Tsinghua University's Global Competence Development Center together with the Asian Universities Alliance. The 2026 edition ran from 27 June to 10 July 2026 across Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing under the theme "Bridging the Divides". I was one of 120 delegates selected from 5,162 applicants. The programme brings young leaders from different countries together for two weeks of field visits, institutional meetings and dialogue on major global issues, and the visit to the Embassy of Benin was one of those institutional meetings.

What we discussed

The conversation with the Ambassador was open and wide-ranging. As summarised by the Embassy, it covered three main themes:

• China's place in global innovation, and the opportunities to build stronger bridges between China and Africa in research, technology and enterprise.
• New technologies as a way for Africa to leapfrog some stages of its development, rather than repeating every step that other economies went through.
• Mobilising, training and valuing African youth, so that the continent's young population is equipped and given room to contribute to these transitions.

The meeting also opened a discussion on possible areas of collaboration with members of the delegation. Our backgrounds covered fields as varied as food, medicine, data science and security cooperation. From my side, as someone working on water, energy and climate policy in Ghana, the point about technology and leapfrogging is directly relevant: much of what limits service delivery and climate accountability on the continent is a question of data, infrastructure and institutions, and these are areas where partnerships with Chinese institutions can add real value if they are designed around African priorities.

Why the meeting mattered to me

TGYD was built around the idea of bridging divides, and this meeting put that idea into practice. It was a diplomatic reception, but it was also a genuine exchange in which the Ambassador engaged with the delegates' different fields and with the question of how young professionals can turn programmes like TGYD into lasting cooperation. Hearing an African diplomat posted in Beijing speak about China-Africa innovation links, and about the role of African youth in them, gave useful context to everything we had seen in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing over the preceding days.

A word of appreciation

I wish to express my deepest appreciation to H.E. Mr. Franck Adjagba and to the staff of the Embassy of Benin in China for the warm reception they extended to our delegation. The Ambassador gave us his time generously and engaged openly with our perspectives on China-Africa cooperation. The conversation was open, thoughtful and encouraging, and it treated the delegates as partners in that work rather than as visitors. I left the Embassy with a clearer view of how my own work in Ghana can connect to these wider efforts, and with real gratitude for the hospitality shown to us.

Acknowledgements

My thanks go to H.E. Mr. Franck Adjagba and the Embassy of Benin in China for hosting us, to Tsinghua University's Global Competence Development Center and the Asian Universities Alliance for organising the Fourth Tsinghua Global Youth Dialogue, and to my fellow delegates for the exchanges throughout the programme.

Photographs: Embassy of Benin in China.