Beijing Summit to elevate Africa-China economic ties, diplomats

African and Chinese experts expect increased cooperation stemming from the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation scheduled for September 3-4 in Beijing. The FOCAC Beijing summit will run under the theme, “China and Africa: Toward an even stronger community with a shared future through win-win cooperation.” Speaking to the media, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian said the summit would be a historic event of grand family gathering between China and African countries, following the previous summit held in 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa. “It will be a historic event, providing a valuable opportunity for Chinese and African leaders to gather in Beijing, to discuss about fraternity and cooperation, as well as joint efforts to map out a new blueprint for China-Africa friendly cooperation,” said Tan. The envoy noted that the Beijing summit would serve as a platform for China and Africa to promote their friendly cooperation in a holistic manner and address global challenges in an active manner. “It is our strong belief that the success of the Beijing summit would manifest the vitality of unity and cooperation between China and Africa, and further promote the sound momentum of the overall growth of the developing countries,” he said. The ambassador said that the Beijing summit would make a renewed call for a stronger community with a shared future between China and Africa. He said China, through the summit, would also align the Belt and Road Initiative with the Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU), the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, and development strategies of respective African countries. He said that numerous African leaders, chairperson of the AU Commission, the UN Secretary General, 27 international and African regional organisations are expected to attend the summit. The AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Amira Elfadil, said that the FOCAC summit has now become a regular forum between Africa and China, and that preparation for the event is going on well on both sides. The upcoming forum is expected to focus on agricultural transformation, industrial development, infrastructure development and science and technology. Speaking to Xinhua, Admasu Nebebe, Ethiopia’s Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Cooperation, said the FOCAC summit is expected to see discussions on how China and African countries can strengthen their cooperation, especially in these four key sectors. AU Chair, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, will be one of the four speakers at the opening ceremony of the forum on the afternoon of September 3. The other speakers are President Xi Jinping of China, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and the Chairperson of AUC, Moussa Mahamat Faki. President Xi is expected to deliver an important keynote speech and announce new steps in China-Africa ties. The summit will also feature a high-level dialogue between Chinese and African leaders and business representatives. It will involve a conference of Chinese and African entrepreneurs which will be an important side event of the summit. Agencies

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Beijing Summit to elevate Africa-China economic ties, diplomats