The general situation in Africa improved a lot in 2004. The cohesion of the African Union increased. Efforts of African countries
to solve the problems in Somalia, Darfur and the Great Lakes in a collective and independent way made great progresses. Political power building in African
countries laid stress to the rule of law, and the system of multi-party election took roots in Africa. Leaders of the older generation paid attentions to the stable transfer of power, and the young leaders are determined to seek for development roads fit for their national
situations on their own. Economic development in African countries varied a lot, oil-producing countries and those with rich resources attracted more attentions, and the process of integration lacked internal impetus. The competition among Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt for a new permanent seat in the Security Council of the UN further complicated the relations among major African states. Making active use of the numerical superiority and the multilateral mechanism,Accordingly, the Western powers made adjustments to their policies and continued to put forward new measures on debt reduction and assistance.