This year marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of
diplomatic relations between China and African countries. Over that
period China and Africa have become all-weather friends, partners
of sincere cooperation, good brothers with the two forging a
profound relationship, cementing bilateral ties and achieving great
success.?
The Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
(FOCAC), scheduled for November 3-5, will be the highest-level and
largest meeting between Chinese and African leaders since they
started to forge cooperative ties in the 1950s.
Over the past five decades the relations between China and
African countries have become closer with the two understanding,
supporting and helping each other. To date forty-eight of the
Africa's 53 countries have established diplomatic ties with
China.?
Since late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai's three visits to Africa
in the 1960s there have been over 800 exchanges between senior
Chinese and African leaders.
In the first half of this year Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao visited 10 African countries and
injected new dynamism into relations.
The two share comprehensive consensus, common interests and a
willingness to further enhance and deepen their cooperation on many
issues. Frequent high-level reciprocal visits have promoted mutual
understanding and trust and have effectively boosted the overall
healthy development of bilateral ties.
The Chinese government issued its African Policy Paper in
January this year presenting to the world the objectives of China's
policy towards Africa and the measures required to achieve
them.
In the document China elaborated on its definite objectives, a
firm belief in carrying forward the traditional friendship and in
developing a new type of strategic partnership with Africa under
new circumstances. These comments received an enthusiastic response
among African nations.
Since the FOCAC was established in 2000 economic and trade
cooperation between China and Africa has entered a new era with
comprehensive, rapid and stable development. Two-way trade volume
rocketed to US$39.7 billion in 2005 after breaking the US$10
billion mark in 2000.
In addition China has forgiven debts of 10.9 billion yuan
(US$1.38 billion) by 31 heavily indebted poorer and less developed
African countries and extended zero-tariff treatment to some
imports to China.
And Africa's energy resources, raw materials and industrial
products began to enter the Chinese market. The two have seen
excellent development with mutual benefits and win-win outcomes
through their closer cooperation in trade and economy.?
In order to accelerate Africa's economic and social development
and to further promote their trade and economic ties China has
provided assistance without any political preconditions for African
nations.
By the end of 2005 China had helped establish more than 720
projects for Africa, offered over 18,000 governmental scholarships,
send over 15,000 medical personnel and treated some 170 million
patients in Africa.
China promised to help Africa train 10,000 professionals three
years ago at FOCAC's 2nd ministerial conference in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. That promise will be met in 2006.
China and Africa also share diversified kinds of culture. Up to
the end of 2005 China had signed 65 cultural agreements with
African countries and implemented 151 plans for exchanges.
Over the past five years more than 10 African nations have sent
some 20 governmental cultural delegations to China and art groups
from both have also visited each other and
performed.??
In 2004 a China-Africa event was successfully held within the
framework of the FOCAC which highlighted the cultural exchanges
being progressed between the two.?
China, the largest developing country and Africa, a continent
which is home to the majority of? developing countries in the
world, have shared the same or similar views on important
international issues.
Both have conducted close, comprehensive coordination and
cooperation, jointly safeguarding their rights and interests and
other developing nations.
African countries have offered valuable support to China and
played an important role in restoring the lawful seat of the
People's Republic of China in the United Nations (UN).?
They've given China strong support in foiling anti-China motions
introduced by some Western countries at the UN Human Rights
Commission, helped defeat many attempts by Taiwan to "participate
in the United Nations" and to get into the World Heath Organization
and other international bodies. African countries also supported
China in its bid to host the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World
Expo.
FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation
jointly established by China and Africa to cope with new challenges
and facilitate common development.
At the upcoming Beijing summit, African and Chinese leaders will
review the development of their cooperation over the past five
decades and the results achieved since the FOCAC's establishment
six years ago. This is to ensure the development of the new type of
strategic partnership, blueprint the two sides' pragmatic
cooperation for the future and exchange views on important
international affairs.
The summit is likely to raise the level of China-Africa
cooperation and inject new life into the friendly relations between
the two.???
(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2006)