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Chinese Ambassador
Defying the odds of the Covid-19, China and Africa successfully convened, on schedule, the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Senegal on November 29-30.
The august gathering saw China and African countries draw up a new blueprint for their post-pandemic recovery. In his keynote speech — “Uphold the Tradition of Always Standing Together and Jointly Build a China-Africa Community with a Shared Future” — at the opening ceremony, HE Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China encapsulated the essence of China-Africa friendship, put forward four proposals to build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, and announced nine programs for cooperation, setting the direction for China-Africa cooperation to grow in quality and sustainability.
“Sincere friendship and equality, win-win for mutual benefit and common development, fairness and justice, and progress with the times and openness and inclusiveness” — this is the essence of China-Africa friendship and the defining feature of China-Africa cooperation. It offers important guidance for developing a new type of international relations; it points to the right way of handling state-to-state relations.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the inauguration of diplomatic relations between China and Africa, the continent with the largest number of developing countries. Fifty years ago, it was our African brothers and sisters who “carried” the New China into the United Nations, as Chairman Mao Zedong vividly put it.
Twenty-one years ago, following the prevailing trend of peace, development and cooperation, China and Africa established FOCAC, ushering this relationship in a new period.
Since then, the Forum has been growing from strength to strength. Today, it is the standard-bearer in international development and cooperation and a shining example of South-South cooperation; its positive impact is felt far and wide across Africa, reaching millions of African families.
China-Africa solidarity and mutual assistance has consolidated Africa’s political independence and improved African capacity for sustainable development. This is a historic chapter in the history of China-Africa solidarity and friendship.
From the “ten cooperation plans” of the 2015 Johannesburg Summit to the “eight major initiatives” of the 2018 Beijing Summit and the “nine programs” this year, FOCAC has made sure its proposals are anchored in quantifiable goals and implementation progress records and its actions embody the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests that china upholds in relations with Africa.
The nine programs to be implemented in the next three years cover the following areas: medical and health, poverty reduction and agricultural development, trade, investment, digital innovation, green development, capacity building, cultural and people-to-people exchange, and peace and security.
Each program consists of clear targets for the next three years, such as US$300 billion of imports from Africa, encouraging Chinese businesses to invest no less than 10 billion US dollars in Africa, and encouraging Chinese companies in Africa to create at least 800 000 local jobs.
All are designed with the people’s wellbeing at the heart; all have the potential to deliver tangible benefits to the people in both China and African countries. China-Africa pragmatic cooperation is poised to hit another all-time high.
China and Zimbabwe are good friends, good partners and good brothers. We have stood with each other through good times and bad in the past 41 years since the establishment of our diplomatic ties. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China and Zimbabwe have enjoyed ever-growing excellent relations and deepened bilateral cooperation across the board.
With a strong desire to help promote Zimbabwe’s development and make life better for its people, China has taken real, bilateral and FOCAC-enabled actions to support Zimbabwe in tackling Covid-19 and striving for economic recovery and sustainable development.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19, China has donated to Zimbabwe multiple batches of PPEs and medical equipments and sent a team of pandemic-control experts. While assisting Zimbabwe in purchasing Chinese vaccines, the Chinese government has donated to this country a total of one million doses of vaccines in four batches. Soon, the fifth batch of one million vaccines will arrive in Harare.
As part of the support from the private sector, Chinese businesses in Zimbabwe acted promptly to spruce up Wilkins Hospital. These actions put Zimbabwe in a more confident position against the virus.
Our efforts in economic cooperation did not falter either under the weight of the health crisis. The Zimbabwean part of the “eight major initiatives” of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing was implemented with good progress.
The 500-borehole drilling financed by Chinese grants has been completed. The new parliament building and pharmaceutical warehouse are nearing completion. The Hwange thermal power station expansion and RGM International airport expansion are speeding up their progress. The Netone Phase III upgrade was launched. China-Zimbabwe Agricultural Cooperation Demonstration Village continues to play a bigger role.
Zimbabwean citrus will soon make its way to the Chinese market. These projects are urgently needed for Zimbabwe’s development and people’s livelihood. They will bring strong impetus to Zimbabwe as it works to realise the goals in NDS1 and Vision 2030.
For many years, China has unswervingly supported Zimbabwe in rejecting illegal sanctions and external interference. China respects the independent choice of the Zimbabwean people regarding what path, system and model to follow in development.
Our interactions and cooperation has been productive between our legislative organs and political parties and in areas like culture and sports.
The latest FOCAC conference will make our comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation more profound and fruitful.
Achievement in the past is the starting point of something greater in the future. China and Zimbabwe are both at a historic point of time in our respective national development.
New opportunities have emerged for the development of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era. Let’s keep working hand in hand to counter the pandemic in solidarity, deepen practical cooperation, promote green development, and uphold equity and justice.
Let’s continue to make FOCAC a brilliant example of international cooperation with Africa and bring the relations between China and Zimbabwe and between China and Africa to new heights.
China will make new contribution to Africa’s effort in containing Covid-19 and promoting economic recovery. Together, China and Zimbabwe will be a strong force for the development of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.
◆ Guo Shaochun is the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe.
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