China News Service, Beijing, November 29 (Reporter Huang Yuqin) Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing on the evening of the 29th.
In the East Hall of the Great Hall of the People, the flag array composed of the flags of China, 53 African countries and the flags of the African Union is magnificent, enthusiastic and unrestrained, showing the long-standing friendship between China and Africa.
Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech entitled "Together in the same boat, carry forward the past and open the future, and join hands to build a China-Africa community with a shared future in a new era."
Xi Jinping pointed out that this year marks the 65th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between China and Africa.
Over the past 65 years, China and Africa have forged an unbreakable brotherhood in the struggle against imperialism and colonialism. They have embarked on a road of distinctive cooperation on the journey of development and rejuvenation. They have written a wonderful chapter of mutual assistance in the complex changes. It has set a shining example for building a new type of international relations.
Xi Jinping emphasized, why are China-Africa relations good?
Why is China-Africa friendship deep?
The key is that the two sides have created a long-standing Sino-African spirit of friendship and cooperation, that is, "sincere friendship, equal treatment, mutual benefit and win-win, common development, uphold justice, defend justice, adapt to the current situation, and be open and inclusive".
This is a true portrayal of China and Africa sharing weal and woe and struggling side by side for decades, and is a source of strength for China-Africa friendly relations.
Xi Jinping pointed out that this year marks the 50th anniversary of China's restoration of its legal seat in the United Nations.
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the vast number of African friends who supported China back then!
China will never forget the profound friendship of African countries, and will continue to uphold the concept of true sincerity and correct justice and benefit, and work with African friends to pass on and carry forward the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation from generation to generation.
Xi Jinping put forward four propositions on building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
First, persist in unity to fight the epidemic.
We must uphold the people's supremacy and life supremacy, promote the spirit of science, support vaccine intellectual property exemptions, and earnestly guarantee the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in Africa, and bridge the "immunity gap."
Second, deepen pragmatic cooperation.
It is necessary to expand the scale of trade and investment, share experience in poverty alleviation, strengthen cooperation in the digital economy, and promote the development of African youth entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises.
African countries are welcome to actively support and participate in global development initiatives.
Third, promote green development.
It is necessary to advocate green and low-carbon concepts, actively develop renewable energy such as solar and wind energy, promote the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement in response to climate change, and continuously enhance the capacity for sustainable development.
Fourth, maintain fairness and justice.
The world needs true multilateralism.
Peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom are the common values of all mankind and the common goals of China and Africa.
We all stand for a development path that suits our own national conditions, we are committed to safeguarding the rights and interests of developing countries, and we all oppose interference in internal affairs, racial discrimination, and unilateral sanctions.
We must uphold the just propositions of developing countries with confidence and transform our common aspirations and common interests into common actions.
Xi Jinping pointed out that as the first three-year plan of the "China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035", China will work closely with African countries to jointly implement the "nine projects."
One is the sanitation and health project.
China will provide another 1 billion doses of vaccine to Africa, of which 600 million doses will be free aid, and 400 million doses will be provided through joint production by Chinese companies and relevant African countries.
China will also implement 10 medical and health projects for African countries, and send 1,500 medical team members and public health experts to Africa.
The second is the poverty reduction project to benefit agriculture.
China will assist Africa in the implementation of 10 poverty reduction and agricultural projects, dispatch 500 agricultural experts, and set up a group of China-Africa modern agricultural technology exchange demonstration and training joint centers in China, and encourage Chinese institutions and enterprises to build China-Africa agricultural development and cooperation in Africa. Demonstration villages for poverty reduction support the launch of the "Hundred Enterprises, Thousand Villages" activity in Africa by the China Corporate Social Responsibility Alliance.
The third is the trade promotion project.
China will establish a "green channel" for the export of African agricultural products to China, and strive to achieve a total import volume of US$300 billion from Africa in the next three years.
China will provide 10 billion U.S. dollars in trade financing to support African exports and build China-Africa in-depth economic and trade cooperation pilot zones and the "Belt and Road" China-Africa Cooperation Industrial Park in China.
To assist Africa in the implementation of 10 facility connectivity projects, establish a China-Africa Economic Cooperation Expert Group, and continue to support the construction of a free trade zone on the African continent.
The fourth is investment-driven engineering.
In the next three years, China will promote a total investment of no less than US$10 billion by enterprises in Africa, establish a "China-Africa Private Investment Promotion Platform", implement 10 industrialization and employment promotion projects for Africa, and provide a credit line of US$10 billion to African financial institutions. , To establish a China-Africa cross-border RMB center.
China will forgive the intergovernmental interest-free loan debts of the least developed countries in Africa that are due at the end of 2021, and is willing to allocate 10 billion U.S. dollars from the additional special drawing rights issued by the International Monetary Fund to lend to African countries.
The fifth is the digital innovation project.
China will assist Africa in the implementation of 10 digital economy projects, build a China-Africa satellite remote sensing application cooperation center, and support the construction of China-Africa joint laboratories, partner institutes, and scientific and technological innovation cooperation bases.
China will join hands with African countries to expand "Silk Road e-commerce" cooperation, hold the African Goods Online Shopping Festival and tourism e-commerce promotion activities, and implement the "Hundred Stores, Thousands of Products on the Platform" initiative in Africa.
Sixth is the green development project.
China will assist Africa in the implementation of 10 green environmental protection and climate change projects, support the construction of the "Africa Green Great Wall", and build low-carbon demonstration zones and climate change adaptation demonstration zones in Africa.
Seven is the capacity building project.
China will help Africa build or upgrade 10 schools, and invite 10,000 high-end African talents to participate in seminars.
Implement the "Future Africa-China-Africa Vocational Education Cooperation Plan" and launch the "Express Employment for African International Students" activity.
Continue to cooperate with African countries to establish "Luban Workshops" and encourage non-Chinese companies to provide local jobs with no less than 800,000 jobs.
The eighth is the humanities exchange project.
China is willing to support all African countries with diplomatic ties to become destination countries for Chinese citizens to organize groups for outbound tourism.
Hold the African Film Festival in China and the Chinese Film Festival in Africa.
The China-Africa Youth Service Forum and the China-Africa Women’s Forum will be held.
Nine is the peace and security project.
China will implement 10 peace and security projects for Africa, continue to implement military assistance to the African Union, support African countries in their independent efforts to maintain regional security and counter-terrorism, and carry out joint training, on-site training, and small arms and light weapons control cooperation between China and Africa.
Xi Jinping finally emphasized that I believe that with the joint efforts of China and Africa, this China-Africa Cooperation Forum meeting will be a complete success, gather the majestic strength of the 2.7 billion people of China and Africa, and promote the construction of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
President Sall of Senegal, the African co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, attended and presided over the opening ceremony.
President Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Sisi of Egypt, President Azali of the Comoros, President Ramaphosa of South Africa, Chairman of the African Union Commission Faki and UN Secretary-General Guterres attended the meeting by video.
The foreign ministers of 53 African countries, ministers or representatives responsible for foreign economic cooperation affairs, and representatives of some international and regional organizations attended the meeting.
The participating African leaders fully affirmed the achievements of China-Africa cooperation in related fields since the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and highly appreciated China's provision of valuable assistance such as vaccines to African countries in the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
They said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Africa and China 65 years ago, the two sides have always been sincere and friendly, united and assisted, trusting and respecting each other. The traditional African-Chinese friendship has withstood various tests and the Africa-China cooperation has achieved extraordinary historic achievements. The African side feels about this. pride.
President Xi Jinping put forward four propositions to promote the development of Africa-China relations and the "Nine Projects" to strengthen practical cooperation between Africa and China, once again demonstrating China's sincere willingness and firm support for helping Africa fight the epidemic and achieve green and sustainable development.
The African side is willing to work with China to consolidate unity and friendship, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and actively build the “Belt and Road” initiative, usher in a new era of Africa-China relations, and build a new era of Africa-China community with a shared future.
The African side warmly congratulates China on the 50th anniversary of the restoration of its legal seat in the United Nations, and will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China policy and support China's great cause of reunification.
The African side supports the global development initiative put forward by the Chinese side and supports the Chinese side in successfully hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Winter Games.
The African side is willing to work with China to safeguard multilateralism, strengthen international coordination and cooperation, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Long live Africa-China friendship!
Long live Africa-China cooperation!
Ding Xuexiang, Yang Jiechi, He Lifeng and others attended the opening ceremony.
Wang Yi attended the meeting in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.
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