Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China
China and Africa have agreed to carry forward the spirit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits and seize new opportunities to upgrade China-Africa cooperation, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Wang made the remarks in an interview with the People’s Daily as he concluded on Saturday the trip to five African nations, namely Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Botswana, Tanzania, and Seychelles.
Noting that the FOCAC is an important platform for collective dialogue and an effective mechanism for practical cooperation between China and Africa, Wang said the FOCAC has achieved fruitful results since its inception 20 years ago.
In particular, the 2018 Beijing Summit of the FOCAC decided to build an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future, marking a new milestone in China-Africa friendly cooperation, Wang added.
He said that China and Africa have reached a consensus that the COVID-19 pandemic can not stop them from moving forward hand in hand, and the two sides will continue to strengthen the construction of the forum.
China will step up health cooperation with Africa and help Africa on major disease prevention, Wang said, adding that China will also strengthen industrial capacity cooperation with Africa and help Africa enhance its home-grown production capacity.
Meanwhile, China is ready to promote cooperation with Africa on regional connectivity and help Africa enhance its infrastructure connectivity, Wang said. In addition, China will work with Africa to advance agricultural cooperation and help the region enhance food security, he added.
The Chinese diplomat said his country will also increase digital cooperation with Africa to help it seize the opportunity of the information revolution, and will boost China-Africa environmental cooperation to help Africa improve its ability to cope with climate change and jointly forge a green Africa.
Besides, Wang noted that China will step up military and security cooperation with Africa and help Africa enhance its peacekeeping and anti-terrorism capabilities, adding the Asian country will strengthen cooperation with Africa on personnel and skills training and help Africa cultivate talents.
With the joint efforts of the two sides, the FOCAC will lead to fruitful cooperation between China and Africa and make new contributions to the building of an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future, Wang added.
