The African Union's Trade Commissioner says Africa will not accept that it should just continue to be a source of raw materials for the rest of the world.
Albert Muchanga says instead his continent wants a future of genuine and mutually beneficial relationships with its trade partners.
It comes as the AU's chair has been invited to the G7 summit in Japan amid intensifying competition with China for Africa's natural resources.
With Western powers seeking greater trade links with the continent, there have been visits to a host of African countries in the run-up to the summit from the leaders of France and Germany, as well as the US vice-president.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique at the start of this month as he sought to bolster African support for his efforts to counter Chinese and Russian influence on the continent, as well as in regards to Taiwan and Ukraine.