| Speech by Xi Jinping, Chinese Vice President, at the Opening Ceremony of the Seminar Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
(Pretoria, South Africa, November 18, 2010)
Today, I am honored to have the opportunity to attend the opening ceremony of the Seminar Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. First of all, I'd like to express warm congratulations on the opening of the seminar and also sincere greetings and heartfelt thanks to all those who have contributed to the promotion of relations between China and South Africa as well as Africa.
South Africa is a "rainbow nation" with beautiful natural scenery and unique multicultural social environment. Eight years ago, during my first visit to South Africa, I was deeply impressed by the South African people's fighting spirit shown in their efforts to build beautiful homes. Eight years after that visit, South Africa gave me a new impression of social stability, economic development, improved living conditions and active diplomacy. In particular, South Africa withstood the severe test of the international financial crisis and was able to maintain financial stability. It successfully held the first World Cup on the African continent, and South Africa's pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo attracted 4.1 million visitors. All of these have fully demonstrated the wisdom and strength of the South African people, and that South Africa has made itself an important force pushing forward the development of Africa.
China and South Africa established diplomatic relations 12 years ago, and our bilateral relationship has risen from partnership to a strategic partnership and now developed into a comprehensive strategic partnership. The bilateral trade volume has grown from less than $1.6 billion to $16 billion, while two-way investment has increased from $70 million to $7 billion, up by 10 times and 100 times respectively. China has become South Africa's largest trading partner and export destination. Both China and South Africa are important developing countries, and in international affairs, particularly within frameworks like Group 20 and "Basic" (China, India, South Africa and Brazil), we maintain good cooperation. My current visit to South Africa aims to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries and on other issues of common interest. I exchanged views with President Jacob Zuma, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, and Max Sisulu, Speaker of the National Assembly. We reached extensive consensuses and the talks were a complete success. The relationship between China and South Africa is the epitome of China-Africa friendly cooperation. For half a century, the China-Africa relationship has withstood the test of changes in the international community and has now entered a new stage of development. Particularly, the founding of FOCAC 10 years ago was a comprehensive and substantial drive for the development of the China-Africa new strategic partnership.
First, political mutual trust keeps increasing. Ten years after the establishment of FACAC saw the most active high-level exchanges and personnel exchanges between China and Africa.
The Ministerial Conferences of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has become an important platform and effective mechanism for collective dialogues and strategic plans for the development of China-Africa relations. In October 2000, President Jiang Zemin proposed the establishment of a "long-term stable, equal and mutually beneficial new partnership" between China and Africa at the first African Ministerial Conference.
At the Beijing Summit of November 2006, President Hu Jintao and African leaders agreed to establish and develop a "new-type of strategic partnership featured by political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchanges." China-Africa relations keep growing to higher levels and are increasingly rich in cooperation content. The multi-level equal dialogue mechanism based on the FACAC helps to promote bilateral mutual understanding, expand consensus and push forward the steady improvement of China-Africa relations.
Second, pragmatic cooperation moves forward in a comprehensive way. With the common development of China and Africa as the goal, deepening cooperation as the purpose and mutual benefit as the principle, FACAC means to build up an all-round and three-dimensional system of cooperation. In the past ten years, China has increased gratuitous assistance interest-free loans and concessional loans to Africa, from which both sides have benefited. China and Africa have gained benefits. The bilateral trade volume has risen from $10.6 billion in 2000 to $106.8 billion in 2008, with an annual growth rate of more than 30 percent. In the first three quarters of 2010, our bilateral trade reached $93.7 billion, which is an increase of 48 percent compared with the same period from the year before. In 2009, China's direct investment in Africa amounted to $1.44 billion, which is 6 times as much as that of 2000. By the end of 2009, China had exempted 35 heavily indebted and least developed African countries from paying more than 300 interest-free loans. The two sides have also conducted pragmatic and effective cooperation in infrastructure construction, energy, agriculture, finance, health care and other areas, which have greatly promoted mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and Africa.
Third, we have increased exchanges and learned more from each other. FACAC respects respective cultural identities and helps to promote the harmonious coexistence of different civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning. The past ten years have seen fruitful cooperation on education, technology, culture and personnel exchanges and human resources development between China and Africa. Cooperation programs such as African cultures in focus and Chinese culture in focus, China-Africa Youth Festival, China Africa cultural focus, China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership Program (CASTEP), FACAC Legal Forum, China-Africa joint research and exchange programs, have greatly boosted mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and the African people. South Africa has made striking achievements in conducting China-Africa cultural exchanges, and there are already five Confucius Institutes in South Africa. China is very quick in training talents and by now has trained nearly 30,000 professionals from Africa. In 2009, the number of African students studying in China reached more than 12,000. They are valuable human resources for the development of Africa, and also an important force to promote China-Africa exchanges and to strengthen China-Africa relations.
We are also pleased to see that FACAC not only pushes forward the process of Africa's integration, but also promotes other countries' cooperation with Africa, which has greatly boosted Africa's international status.
Sixty-one years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, particularly during the 32 years since China adopted the policy of reform and opening up in late 1970s, China's economic power and comprehensive national strength as well as people's material and cultural life have been greatly improved. 1.3 billion Chinese people, who were once lacking in food and clothes, are now basically living a relatively well-off life. However, China is still the largest developing country in the world. Although China's GDP is expected to become the world's second highest this year, the per-capita GDP is only one tenth of that of developed countries. According to the United Nations standard, China still has 1.5 billion people living below the poverty line. China is still faced with hard tasks in terms of reform and opening up, the promotion of scientific development, of social harmony, and of people's livelihood. It will require long-term efforts and hard work before China achieves modernization and provides all of its people with a prosperous and happy life.
China has always regarded development as the top priority in governance and the rejuvenation of the nation. Internally, China goes along the road of scientific, harmonious and coordinated development, while in foreign affairs, it adheres to the practice of peaceful, open and cooperative development.
China will unswervingly follow the road of peaceful development, so as to achieve its own development by upholding world peace and also safeguard world peace through its own development. China will unswervingly follow a win-win and mutually-beneficial strategy of opening up. While continuing to "bring in," China will also "send out." While accelerating foreign investment-oriented cooperation in various forms, China will also try to help developing countries, especially African countries, to strengthen their ability of independent development and enhance south-south cooperation to narrow south-north gaps.
China is now Africa's largest trading partner and Africa is China's fourth largest overseas investment destination. In recent years, more than 20 percent of Africa's economic growth can be attributed to China. Close China-Africa economic ties have helped the African economy to realize quick recovery and development in coping with the global financial crisis.
China-Africa cooperation has brought tangible benefits to Africa. As for this, the governments and people of African countries have real experience, and the international community has also made a fair assessment. I have noticed that some scholars in developed countries who have long been studying China-Africa relations, through personal visits and case studies, concluded that the essence of China-Africa relations is mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. They appealed to the international community to hold an objective attitude towards China's role in Africa. We appreciate this pragmatic attitude and rational voice.
To strengthen cooperation and solidarity with developing countries, including African countries, is the basic standpoint and starting point of China's foreign policy. In today's world, the trend of peace, development and cooperation favors every country's development. China and Africa's population account for about one-third of the world's total. We are an important force to safeguard world peace and promote global development. To strengthen China-Africa solidarity and cooperation, deepen traditional friendships, safeguard common interests, and jointly work for the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals, will enrich the content of South-South cooperation, promote democracy in international relationships, and build up a more just and rational international political and economic order.
In the second decade of the 21st century, FACAC is now standing at a new historical starting point. We firmly believe that China and Africa share common goals. We will continue to treat and plan the Forum with an open and inclusive vision, a scientific development-oriented thinking and a positive and pragmatic attitude. We'll surely make FACAC a stronger forum and push the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership faster forward.
First, to strengthen strategic planning, so as to make FACAC a guarantee for political mutual trust between China and Africa. We should stick to the practice of mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual support, and treat each other as equals. We must continue to plan and develop China-Africa relations from a strategic height, strengthen dialogues and negotiations within the framework of FACAC, pay more attention to coordination on global issues of common interest, make efforts to make developing countries' voices and representation stronger in the international system, so as to help both sides develope in an ever-changing world.
Second, to deepen pragmatic cooperation to make FACAC an important engine for the common development of China and Africa. We should try to expand cooperation areas, enhance the level of cooperation, expand the scale of China-Africa trade and optimize trade structures. China will strengthen cooperation in infrastructure construction and actively explore transnational cooperation projects. We will help Africa's exporting of commodities to China, increase investment in Africa and technology transfers, increase employment opportunities for African people and enhance African countries' capacity of independent development so as to further benefit the people of Africa. China, within its capacity, is ready to continue to increase assistance to Africa, optimize the structure of this assistance, and increase assistance in livelihood improvement, energy-saving and environmental protection projects like education, agriculture, health, and poverty reduction.
Third, to strengthen cultural exchanges and make FACAC a bond of affection that deepens China-Africa relations. We need to expand inter-governmental communication and cooperation on education, technology, culture and tourism while keeping a close connection between our political parties, local governments, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and the media. In deepening cooperation, we should pay more attention to strengthening cultural exchanges and consolidating the social foundation of China-Africa relations.
Fourth, to strengthen the construction of FACAC and to make the Forum an effective and mature platform for cooperation. We need to properly deal with new problems and challenges emerging in the second decade of the 21st century. In accordance with new situations and new features presented by the international situation as well as the development of China-Africa relations, we must continuously explore new ideas and new ways of how to push forward the Forum. We should have an innovative spirit in developing FACAC and in conducting cooperation by fully tapping African members' enthusiasm, initiative and creativity. China will strengthen cooperation with AU and African sub-regional organizations and actively explore ways to cooperate with various areas of the international community, so as to continuously enhance the cohesion and influence of FACAC.
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation covers China and Africa, involving a total of 50 countries and more than 2 billion people. To promote healthy and smooth development of the Forum is a responsibility of both China and Africa. China appreciates African countries' constant efforts over the years for the improvement of this mechanism and for the implementation of the fruits of the Forum. South Africa, as a country of great influence in Africa, has always valued and supported the development of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. South Africa's proposal to host the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is another important manifestation of its support for the development of the Forum. The Chinese side welcomes this proposal.
China is ready to join hands with FACAC members, including South Africa, to work for a better future for a new-type China-Africa strategic partnership. |
