A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

This is a line from the Classic of the Way and Virtue. The philosopher Lao Zi indicated that major events often evolve from trivial things and great ambitions have to be achieved step by step. A good start is a job half-done, so to realize lofty ideals one must begin with the first step and get down to earnest work.

In his keynote speech at the opening of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in November 2021, Xi Jinping quoted, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step," and made four pragmatic proposals from the historic starting point of building a China-Africa community of shared future in the new era.

千里之行，始于足下

“千里之行，始于足下”，语出《道德经》，意为哪怕千里远的行程，也要从迈第一步开始。这句话多用来形容大事都是由小事逐渐发展演变而来的，再远大的目标也要从点滴小事做起，逐步实现；引申说明任何事情都需要从头做起，一个好的开始往往是事情成败的关键，远大的理想和抱负需要脚踏实地地推动，才能完成既定的任务。

2021年11月，习近平在中非合作论坛第八届部长级会议开幕式上的主旨演讲中引用“千里之行，始于足下”，站在构建新时代中非命运共同体的历史起点上提出了4点务实主张。