China yesterday hailed the upcoming Beijing summit between China and African nations as an important milestone in China-Africa ties.

"We believe the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be successful and become a milestone in China-Africa ties," Xu Jinghu, the head of the Africa Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a briefing on the FOCAC.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has extended invitations to 48 African countries that have diplomatic ties with China, all of which have confirmed their attendance.

Most of the delegations will be led by heads of state or government, she added.

Scheduled for November 3 to 5, the summit, also the third ministerial meeting of the FOCAC, will focus on the subjects of "friendship, peace, cooperation and development."

The summit will be the highest-level, largest-scale meeting between Chinese and African leaders since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, according to Xu.

The upcoming summit will include an opening ceremony, a leaders' roundtable meeting, dialogues between leaders and business representatives, and a gala.

A political declaration and action plan are also expected to be unveiled during the summit, she said.

A China-Africa senior official meeting will be held from November 1 to 2, and a ministerial meeting will take place on November 3.

The preparations for the summit are going smoothly, she added.

The Chinese government has also invited five African nations, which do not have diplomatic ties with China, to participate as observers.

The five countries are Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Malawi, Gambia, and Sao Tome & Principe.

"China extended the invitation to those countries to show the integrity of the African continent," Xu explained, adding that it was also in keeping with previous practices of the first and second ministerial conferences.

"As the registration deadline has not passed, it is still unknown whether these countries will accept," Xu added.

FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly established in 2000 by China and Africa to cope with new challenges and facilitate common development.

The two previous ministerial conferences were held in Beijing and Addis Ababa respectively.

(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2006)