China-Africa cooperation continues to expand and deepen, with promising prospects
2022-08-25 08:46:42Source: CCTV News Client of China Central Radio and Television Station
Recently, the meeting of coordinators for the implementation of the outcomes of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation concluded successfully. The meeting further consolidated the solidarity and cooperation between China and Africa and injected new impetus into the future cooperation between China and Africa. The prospect of common development and common revitalization between China and Africa is exciting.
The meeting stated that on the basis of continuing to strengthen traditional fields such as infrastructure, investment and financing, agriculture, manufacturing, and communications, deepen cooperation in new fields such as energy, digital economy, health, marine economy, vocational education, and women and youth development.
From the “Ten Major Cooperation Plans” and “Eight Major Actions” to the “Nine Projects” proposed by President Xi Jinping last year, China-Africa pragmatic cooperation has continued to reach a record high, and new achievements in China-Africa friendship have been continuously implemented.
African friends thumbs up
Benefit people’s livelihood and promote development. The “Nine Projects” attracted praise from all walks of life in Africa.
Calle Schleitwein, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Land Reform of Namibia, said that deepening China-Africa cooperation will not only benefit the development of both China and Africa, but also help promote global poverty reduction.
Fish Mahralella, Deputy Minister of Tourism of South Africa, praised the coordinators’ meeting for the implementation of the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) for creating new opportunities for Chinese and African enterprises and contributing to the economic inclusiveness of both sides.
In order to better attract and serve Chinese tourists, the Ministry of Tourism of South Africa has launched a special training program to select local tour guides from 9 provinces in South Africa. After Chinese training, they will provide services to Chinese tourists in Chinese in the future.
Paul Tenby, a senior researcher at the Mbeki Institute for African Leadership at the University of South Africa, said that from the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, we can see the extraordinaryness of China.
Mohammad Youssef, Senior Assistant to the Speaker of the Nigerian National Assembly, said, “China-Africa cooperation projects that have been successfully operated over the years have spread across the African continent, which are seen by all sectors of Africa and experienced by people of all countries.” He said that the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has been established for 22 years. , there are special follow-up meetings and mechanisms for follow-up, coordination and implementation, which fully demonstrates the pragmatism and efficiency of China-Africa cooperation.
In response to recent years by the US and Western media and politicians to smear and slander China-Africa cooperation and try to undermine the trust and friendship between China and Africa, Youssef said, “China has given us an opportunity to grow like brothers. The contribution is very small, if you really want to help Africa, please take concrete actions.”
“Nine Projects” Achieved Important Early Gains
At the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Dakar, the capital of Senegal from November 29 to 30, 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to build a China-Africa community with a shared future in a new era, summarizing “China-Africa friendship”. The spirit of cooperation”, announced the “Nine Projects” of China-Africa pragmatic cooperation.
Now more than nine months have passed, “the two sides have reached a large number of important cooperation results and achieved important early harvests.”
In terms of health and health engineering, the main structure of the China-aided Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Phase I) project in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, has been capped in November 2021 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. In addition, since the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China has provided 189 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 27 African countries, and the annual production capacity of localized cooperative production in Africa has reached regarding 400 million doses.
In terms of poverty alleviation projects, four “China-Africa Modern Agricultural Technology Exchange Demonstration and Training Joint Centers” have been established since the beginning of this year, which will cultivate talents for Africa in the fields of tropical crops, aquaculture, biomass energy, and dry farming.
In terms of trade promotion projects, in November last year, at the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China announced the establishment of a “green channel” for the export of African agricultural products to China. Since the beginning of this year, China has signed an exchange of letters with 12 African countries including Togo, Eritrea and Djibouti on zero tariffs on 98% of products exported to China. Zimbabwe citrus, Rwandan stevia, South African fresh pears, Kenyan wild aquatic products and avocados have been exported to China one following another. Licensed, more than 350 types of African products and foods exported to China.
In 2021, China will import US$5.03 billion in agricultural products from Africa, a year-on-year increase of 18.23%, setting a record. China-Africa agricultural cooperation still has vast space to be tapped, which will not only help Africa reduce poverty and benefit farmers, help Africa’s inclusive growth and sustainable development, but also help meet China’s diversified market needs.
In terms of digital innovation projects, from April 28 to May 12 this year, the “African Good Things Online Shopping Festival” was held, and various related activities were held in many places. During the period, more than 200 high-quality products from 23 African countries participated in the online line. Under the exhibition, products such as chili paste from Rwanda, coffee from Ethiopia, black tea and soapstone from Kenya, and red wine from South Africa are very popular. More and more African products are entering the daily life of Chinese consumers.live streamingNew business forms and new models such as e-commerce and cross-border e-commerce are developing rapidly, and the digital economy is gradually becoming a new highlight of China-Africa cooperation.
Major cooperation projects continue to benefit African people’s livelihood
Since the beginning of this year, a large number of major cooperation projects to improve and benefit African people’s livelihood have been completed one following another, and some of the original construction achievements are continuing to provide assistance for local economic and social development.
On March 22, the new terminal building of Nigeria’s economic center and the largest city Lagos International Airport, which was built by a Chinese company, was completed and opened.
On March 26, Senegal’s Fanggioni Bridge, built by a Chinese company, was completed. The bridge with a total length of regarding 1,600 meters spans the Saloum River and is the longest bridge across the river in the country.
On May 31, the 5th anniversary of the opening of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, it achieved safe operation for 1,826 days. The cumulative number of passengers sent reached 7.785 million, and the freight volume reached 1.773 million TEUs.
△Photographed by Gao Junya, a reporter from the main station of the Zimbabwe New Parliament Building built with Chinese aid
At the end of May, the new parliament building of Zimbabwe built with Chinese aid was completed and accepted. On July 20, when Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa inspected the project, he pointed out that the new parliament building is the most significant building he has ever seen and is the national symbol of Zimbabwe.
On July 29, the Kafu River water supply project in Zambia was completed and delivered. In his speech, Zambian President Hitchlema spoke highly of Chinese enterprises’ strong support for Zambia’s water supply, power supply and other livelihood development projects.
On July 31, the Nairobi Expressway in Kenya, wholly invested and built by a Chinese company, was officially opened for operation. Kenyan President Kenyatta attended the opening ceremony and praised the project for “ensuring Nairobi’s status as a regional center and economic center”.
“Promises must be kept and action must be resolute”. In less than a year, the “Nine Projects” have achieved remarkable results, and the results of each specific cooperation project have become the epitome of China-Africa cooperation in the new era, and also a vivid portrayal of the building of a “China-Africa Community of Shared Future”.
It is believed that with the joint efforts of China and Africa, the “Nine Projects” will surely yield more fruits, compose a new chapter of high-quality development of China-Africa cooperation and jointly build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. (He Beiping, headquarter reporter)
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