SCIO press conference on 'China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals' white paper
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E-mail China.org.cn, November 30, 2021
Shou Xiaoli:
Thank you, Mr. Jiang, for your introduction. The floor is now open for questions. Please identify your media outlet before asking your questions.
CCTV:
As you said just now, the white paper is the first of its kind issued by the Chinese government since the 18th CPC National Congress on China's cooperation with a specific region. Why was China-Africa cooperation chosen as the subject? Thank you.
Wu Jianghao:
I think many of you may have the same question. We have chosen to issue a white paper on China-Africa cooperation because China-Africa relations are very special. This is mainly reflected in the following three aspects.
First, African countries and China are all developing countries. China and Africa enjoy a long-lasting friendship, and our relations grow closer with time. The Chinese and African peoples have forged a strong friendship as we struggled for national independence and liberation and carried out mutual support and wholehearted cooperation in seeking national rejuvenation and development. The two sides have been firmly supporting each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns. Chairman Mao once said, "It's our African brothers who got the People's Republic of China back into the United Nations." No matter how the international situation changes in the future, I believe we will remain true to the original aspiration of China-Africa win-win cooperation and common development. China and Africa will always be the most reliable friends and sincere partners.
Second, China-Africa cooperation has become a distinct symbol in South-South cooperation and in international cooperation with Africa. Entering the new century, especially since the founding of FOCAC in 2000, practical cooperation between China and African countries has developed rapidly. China helped African countries build more than 80 large-scale power facilities and funded over 130 medical facilities, 45 sports venues, and over 170 schools. It also trained more than 160,000 personnel for Africa and built a series of flagship projects, including the AU Conference Center. Chinese companies have utilized various funds to help African countries build and upgrade more than 10,000 km of railways, nearly 100,000 km of highways, nearly 1,000 bridges and 100 ports. They have also helped build an installed power-generating capacity of 120 million kW, a communications backbone network of 150,000 km, and a network service covering nearly 700 million user terminals. The two sides have also seen expanded cooperation in emerging industries such as the digital economy, aerospace, clean energy, and new infrastructure. The fruitful results of China-Africa cooperation can be seen across the continent. It has improved the conditions for economic and social development in Africa and enhanced Africa's development capabilities, which brought tangible benefits to people in both China and Africa and created more favorable conditions for others in the international community to conduct cooperation with Africa.
Third, China and Africa set an exemplary model for building a global community of shared future. The overall objective in pursuing China's major country diplomacy is to promote the building of a new type of international relations and a global community of shared future. The future of our people is closely linked, and we share very similar views on major issues such as promoting the change of the international landscape and making international relations more democratic. The concept of a global community of shared future is highly compatible with Africa's goal of building a stronger African continent through unity, prosperity and rejuvenation, which is well received and supported by African countries. When China-Africa cooperation thrives, South-South cooperation will flourish. When China and Africa are fully developed, the world will be a better place. Cooperation in the new era will lay more solid foundations for building an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future and promote China-Africa relations to be at the forefront of building a global community of shared future. Thank you.
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