Pak China Monitoring Desk
BEIJING: 04 Sep 2024 – Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted African leaders at a banquet in Beijing on Wednesday, kicking off 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation FOCAC the city’s biggest summit in years with promises of cooperation in infrastructure, energy and education.
China is Africa’s largest trading partner and has sought to tap the continent’s vast troves of natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.It has also furnished African countries with billions in loans that have helped build much-needed infrastructure.
Twenty-five African leaders have arrived in Beijing or confirmed attendance at this week’s China-Africa forum. President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan welcomed guests as they arrived for a lavish dinner at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday evening.
China-Africa infrastructure cooperation creating new opportunities for Africa’s Development
There was also a “family” photo of the gathered leaders and President Xi gave a speech at an opening ceremony on Thursday morning.
Chinese state media has lauded Xi this week as a “true friend of Africa”, claiming Beijing’s ties were reaching “new heights” under his stewardship.
The Chinese leader had held talks with more than a dozen African counterparts in Beijing by Wednesday.
Xi called during a meeting on Tuesday with President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria – one of China’s biggest borrowers on the continent – for great cooperation in the “development of infrastructure, energy and mineral resources”, state news agency Xinhua said.
He also promised cooperation in “investment, trade, infrastructure, mineral resources” and other areas during talks on the same day with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Xi backed Zimbabwe in its struggle against “illegal sanctions” imposed by the United States in response to corruption and human rights abuses by the country’s leadership.
H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China, in his address, at the welcoming banquet of the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation expressed his best wishes for the prosperity of China and African countries and the well-being of their people,for the everlasting friendship between the Chinese and African people,for the success of the Summit, and for the health of all distinguished guests and your families.
The President extended a warm welcome to the guests and quoted a Chinese poem, “True friends always feel close to each other, no matter the distance between them.”
He shared, “I have been to Africa 10 times and hosted many African leaders in China. All our meetings have been cordial and heartwarming. They have reinforced my belief that the China-Africa community with a shared future is built on a strong foundation, has been blessed with a good start, and enjoys broad prospects. It sets a stellar example for building a community with a shared future for mankind.”
“The China-Africa community with a shared future is deeply rooted in our traditional friendship. Since the mid-20th century, we have been fighting shoulder to shoulder imperialism, colonialism, and hegemonism, and advancing hand in hand along the path of development, revitalization, and modernization. China-Africa friendship remains robust and is growing stronger through generations no matter how the world changes, President Xi noted.
He said, “The China-Africa community with a shared future thrives on the strength of win-win cooperation. Twenty-four years ago, FOCAC was born at the dawn of a new century. Through this key cooperation platform, we have together built roads, railways, schools, hospitals, industrial parks, and special economic zones. These projects have changed the lives and destiny of many people.”
“The China-Africa community with a shared future grows in step with the times. Following the Eighth FOCAC Ministerial Conference in Dakar in 2021, we have worked together to fully implement the nine programs and deliver on other outcomes of the meeting. We pulled together in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. We maintained close cooperation and coordination on major international and regional issues. Together we have made the voice of the Global South stronger.”
“We human beings have been dreaming of a community with a shared future, and modernization is what it takes to turn our dream into reality. China and Africa have been, and remain, pioneers in building this community, and we will stay at the forefront in pursuing modernization, President Xi continued.
He expressed confident that as long as the 2.8 billion-strong Chinese and African people are united for this common goal, we will accomplish new and even greater feats together on the way toward modernization, spearhead the modernization drive of the Global South, and make greater contributions to a community with a shared future for mankind, President Xi concluded with cheers from all sides. President of the cooperation forum , Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal was also present.
