Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 29th
We will help each other in the same boat, carry forward the past, and join hands to build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era
——Keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
(November 29, 2021)
Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China
Dear President Sall,
Dear colleagues, distinguished guests, and friends:
It is a great pleasure to attend the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to President Salle and the Senegalese government for their meticulous preparations for this meeting!
I would like to extend a warm welcome to all colleagues and guests attending the meeting!
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the inauguration 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.
friends!
Why are China-Africa relations good?
Why is China-Africa friendship deep?
The key is that both China and Africa have created a long-standing Sino-African spirit of friendship and cooperation, which 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.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of China's restoration of its legal seat in the United Nations.
Here, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the vast number of African friends who supported China in those days!
I would like to solemnly reiterate that China will never forget the profound friendship of African countries, and will continue to uphold the concept of true affinity and sincerity and the correct concept of 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.
friends!
At the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, I proposed to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future, which was unanimously endorsed by African leaders.
Over the past three years, China and Africa have worked hand in hand to promote the implementation of the "Eight Major Actions" and other summit results, and have completed a large number of key cooperation projects. China-Africa trade volume and China's investment in Africa have steadily increased. Almost all non-members of the forum have They all joined the big cooperative family of jointly building the “Belt and Road” initiative, injecting strong impetus into the China-Africa comprehensive strategic partnership.
A thousand miles begins with a single step.
Standing at the historical starting point of building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, I would like to make four propositions.
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.
We must create a new phase of China-Africa cooperation, expand trade and investment, share experience in poverty reduction, strengthen digital economic cooperation, and promote the development of African youth entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises.
The global development initiative that I put forward at the UN General Assembly this year is highly compatible with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. African countries are welcome to actively support and participate.
Third, promote green development.
In the face of climate change, a major challenge for all mankind, we must 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 our 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.
friends!
Before this meeting, China and Africa jointly formulated the "China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035".
As the first three-year plan of the vision, China will work closely with African countries to jointly implement the "Nine Projects."
One is the sanitation and health project.
In order to achieve the AU target of 60% of the African population being vaccinated against the new crown by 2022, I announced that China will provide Africa with another 1 billion doses of vaccines, of which 600 million doses will be free aid, and 400 million doses will be provided by Chinese companies and relevant African countries. Provided by means of national joint production.
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 to Africa, 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 agriculture in Africa Demonstration villages for development and poverty reduction, and support the launch of the "Hundred Enterprises and Thousand Villages" activity by the China Corporate Social Responsibility Alliance in Africa.
The third is the trade promotion project.
China will establish a "green channel" for the export of African agricultural products to China, accelerate quarantine access procedures, and further expand the scope of zero-tariff treatment products from the least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, and strive to achieve a total import volume of 300 billion from Africa in the next three years Dollar.
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.
China will assist Africa in the implementation of 10 facility connectivity projects, establish a China-Africa Economic Cooperation Expert Group with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, and continue to support the construction of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The fourth is investment-driven engineering.
In the next three years, China will promote enterprises to invest no less than US$10 billion in Africa and establish a "China-Africa Private Investment Promotion Platform."
China will assist Africa in the implementation of 10 industrialization and employment promotion projects, provide African financial institutions with a credit line of US$10 billion, focus on supporting the development of African small and medium-sized enterprises, and establish a Sino-African cross-border RMB center.
China will cancel the intergovernmental interest-free loan debts of the least developed countries in Africa that are due at the end of 2021.
China 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.
China will 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.
friends!
The founding president of Senegal, Senghor once wrote, "Let us report to the new world." I believe that with the joint efforts of China and Africa, this China-Africa Cooperation Forum meeting will be a complete success and unite China and Africa 27 The majestic power of hundreds of millions of people promotes the construction of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
thank you all.