Members of the Chinese community in Rwanda on Thursday celebrated the 66th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country’s biggest annual celebration.

The function was held at the Chinese Embassy in Kigali.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Shen Yongxiang spoke of sound and stable relations between China and Africa.

The envoy emphasised that China’s development is driven by  the hard work of the Chinese people.

Thanks for joining us to celebrate this day, he said, after 66 years of hard work, China has realised remarkable achievements.

As the world’s second largest economy, Yongxiang said his country is moving in the right direction.

The envoy reiterated that China attaches importance to its relations with countries in Africa, including Rwanda.

He commended the fact that Africa is making strides towards the goals set out in the African Anion’s agenda 2063.

He noted that diplomatic relations between China and Rwanda have blossomed and were poised grow even stronger.

"This year alone, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Minister of Infrastructure, Minister for Education and State Minister in charge of Technical and Vocational Education of Rwanda visited China and reached a number of agreements on China-Rwanda cooperation with their Chinese counterparts,” he said.

Geraldine Mukeshimana, the Minister for Agriculture and Animal resources, commended the diplomatic ties with China which she said had contributed to Rwanda’s development in different sectors of the economy.

"We greatly value our ties…Chinese investments in Rwanda are growing and have come with substantial job opportunities. China has extended to Rwanda soft and interest free loans, and scholarships,” she said, listing roads, schools and hospitals among other Chinese funded projects in the country.

"This is a sign of strong bilateral relations. Our wish is to maintain and strengthen this relationship and explore more areas of cooperation.”

In 2014, the bilateral trade value between China and Rwanda reached US$207 million.