Upcoming FOCAC meeting imperative in boosting China-Africa ties -- experts

2021-10-22 05:30:18 GMT2021-10-22 13:30:18(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Experts and policymakers at a China-Africa cooperation-themed high-level seminar said Wednesday that the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting will offer opportunities to boost China-Africa ties across a range of sectors.

The high-level seminar, held virtually with the theme of "Look Into the Future: The New Era of China-Africa Cooperation," underscored the need to tap into the potential of the upcoming FOCAC meeting, slated to be held in Senegal later this year, to further boost China-Africa relations.

Liu Yuxi, head of the Chinese Mission to the African Union (AU), said the eighth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC will discuss the new developments, imperatives and opportunities in upgrading China-Africa cooperation.

Liu stressed that the conference would focus on cooperation areas such as health, industrial capacity, regional connectivity, developments in agriculture, digital innovations, environment, military and security, as well as personnel and skills training.

"FOCAC is our own platform for collective dialogue and mechanism for practical cooperation. It has bolstered high-level interactions and political trust between China and Africa, delivering a leap in China-Africa relations from 'a new type of partnership' to 'a new type of strategic partnership' and to a comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership," he said.

Noting that solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful tools to defeat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the ambassador said, "the sunshine of cooperation will surely dispel the haze of the pandemic."

According to Liu, China-Africa anti-pandemic cooperation has proved successful, in which China has urgently provided various kinds of assistance including materials, vaccines and expert teams to 53 African countries and the AU, in response to African needs.

"China-Africa economic and trade cooperation and our solidarity provide strong support to economic reopening and recovery in Africa," he said.

African and Chinese diplomats and experts mainly discussed the implications and expected positive impact of FOCAC in furthering the China-Africa ties.

Bartholomew Armah, director of Macroeconomics and Governance Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said that in addition to further strengthening cooperation in finance, the upcoming FOCAC meeting would boost cooperation across a range of areas.

According to the UNECA director, promoting environment-friendly development mechanisms, sustainable energy development, innovation in information and communications technology, the digital sector as well as the health sector are among the potential areas where the upcoming FOCAC could boost Africa-China ties.

Xu Weizhong, director of the Institute for African Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, noted that the partnership in healthcare, promoting Africa's manufacturing and industrial sector, as well as the development of digital economy in Africa could be among the areas to be harnessed in the upcoming FOCAC meeting.

Tekeda Alemu, a board member of Ethiopia's Center for Dialogue, Research and Cooperation and former Ethiopian state minister and permanent representative to the United Nations, also echoed the significance of the FOCAC platform in terms of augmenting China-Africa ties.

Alemu emphasized that the upcoming FOCAC meeting could serve as an imperative platform towards the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. Enditem

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