Full text: Remarks by President Xi Jinping at joint meeting with press together with presidents of African co-chairs of FOCAC

Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People’s Republic of China

At the Joint Meeting with the Press Together with

Presidents of the Previous and Sitting African Co-Chairs of FOCAC 

Beijing, 4 September 2018

Your Excellency President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa,

Your Excellency President Macky Sall,

Friends from the Press,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to meet you here.

First of all, it is my pleasure to announce that the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has just successfully concluded.

In the past two days, leaders of FOCAC members gathered in Beijing under the theme of “China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation”. We reviewed implementation of the outcomes of the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, discussed plans for future growth of China-Africa relations, and drew the blueprint for China-Africa cooperation to go ahead. The Summit issued the Beijing Declaration — Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future, which embodies the agreement reached between China and Africa on major regional and international issues in today’s world and sends out a strong message that China and Africa will go hand in hand in years to come. The Summit adopted the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan, and identified eight major initiatives as the focus of China-Africa cooperation in the coming three years to strengthen practical cooperation across the board.

We agreed that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Economic globalization is deepening in an increasingly multipolar world. The future of the world’s people has never been so closely linked. Meanwhile, mankind faces a host of common challenges as uncertainties and destabilizing factors continue to mount. China and Africa will join hands to build a China-Africa community with a shared future that features joint responsibility, win-win cooperation, happiness for all, common cultural prosperity, common security, and harmonious co-existence. Together, we will better uphold the common interests of China and Africa, boost the strength of developing countries, and make the world a more balanced and better place for everyone to live in. This will set a good example for the building of a community with a shared future for mankind in our times.

We agreed that China-Africa relations have stood the test of time and international changes and embarked on a distinctive path of win-win cooperation. China-Africa relations are at their best in history. The two sides will enhance synergy between strategies and policies, advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and pool the strength of this Initiative with that of Agenda 2063 of the African Union, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, and national development strategies of African countries. The focus will be on the implementation of eight major initiatives, namely, industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, health care, people-to-people exchange, and peace and security. It will provide more opportunities and give even stronger impetus to China-Africa cooperation.

We agreed that China-Africa relations have demonstrated unprecedented solidarity, vitality and creativity, which offers significant opportunities for the development of each side. China is the biggest developing country, and Africa the continent with a large gathering of developing countries in the world. The two sides will stay committed to strengthening unity and cooperation and working with each other along the path of win-win cooperation and common development. China will continue to act in the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and of pursuing the greater good and shared interests. Together, China and Africa will draw on the strength of our profound friendship and mutual trust, keep to the right direction as practical cooperation flourishes, and work for solid, steady and sustained growth of the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership.

We agreed that Africa is entitled to achieving development and invigoration. This requires both the hard work of African countries and their people, and the support from the international community. China-Africa cooperation, as part of the international cooperation with Africa, follows the principle of mutual benefit, openness and inclusiveness. We hope that Africa’s international cooperation partners could learn from each other, leverage their respective strengths, build synergy and jointly contribute to peace and development in Africa. While conducting cooperation with Africa, all parties of the international community need to respect the sovereignty of African countries, listen to Africa’s voice, take Africa’s stance seriously and deliver on the promises made to Africa.

The meeting has completed all items on the agenda. Chinese and African leaders have reached significant common ground and spoken with one voice on all major issues. The Beijing Summit has achieved great success and produced significant outcomes. It has opened a new chapter in the history of China-Africa relations and set a new milestone for South-South cooperation of our times.

Over the past few days, Chinese and African leaders also had intensive bilateral meetings during this friendly gathering of the big China-Africa family, and some African heads of state and government have paid or will pay bilateral visits to China. I had bilateral meetings with all the African leaders who attended the Beijing Summit and visited China. We had in-depth exchange of views and reached broad and significant common understanding on our respective bilateral relations and issues of shared interest.

Eighteen years ago, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was established to answer the call of the times. Since then, it has grown strong and prospered as China-Africa cooperation continues to flourish. It has become a distinct symbol in international cooperation with Africa and in South-South cooperation. The success of the Beijing Summit marks a new historic starting point for the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership. We are about to set out on a new journey in history. We need to work together to substantiate and strengthen FOCAC, and deliver on the outcomes of the Beijing Summit in full and in real earnest, so that China-Africa cooperation will bring tangible benefits to our peoples.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As the Beijing Summit comes to a conclusion, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to African leaders attending the Summit. Their hard work, active contribution, valuable experience and great wisdom have all contributed to the great success of the Summit.

In particular, I wish to thank President Cyril Ramaphosa for working closely with me over the past two days to co-chair the Summit, and I thank South Africa for the excellent job it has done as co-chair of FOCAC. I congratulate Senegal on taking over as the new co-chair of FOCAC, and I thank President Macky Sall for his strong commitment to advancing the Forum in its development.

My thanks also go to friends from the Chinese and African business and cultural communities as well as think tanks and the media for your active participation and support. To friends from the media, I thank you for your comprehensive and timely coverage of the Summit and its outcomes. I hope you will continue to follow the development of FOCAC and support China-Africa relations.

I am convinced that with our concerted efforts and with the strong support of the over 2.6 billion Chinese and African people, we will meet our goal of building an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future. China-Africa relations will embrace even brighter prospects in the time to come.

Thank you.