国内英语资讯:Full text of Yang Jiechis written interview with Xinhua News Agency_时事

国内英语资讯:Full text of Yang Jiechis written interview with Xinhua News Agency

Yang Jiechi: Since the inception of FOCAC in October 2000, seven ministerial conferences and three summits have been held thanks to the concerted efforts of China and Africa. FOCAC has grown into a valuable platform for collective dialogue and an effective mechanism for practical cooperation. The Beijing Summit of September 2018 was a great success. As a new milestone in the pursuit of greater solidarity and cooperation and common development between China and Africa, the Summit established FOCAC as an important pace-setter in international cooperation with Africa. Indeed, FOCAC has traveled an extraordinary journey in the past two decades.

First, in keeping with the desire of the two sides, China-Africa relations have been upgraded from a new type of partnership, to a new type of strategic partnership, and to a comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership. During last year's Beijing Summit, President Xi Jinping and African leaders agreed to build an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future, adding more substance to the comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership between China and Africa.

Second, China-Africa relations and the bilateral ties of China and African countries have been running at a high level. In particular, on the sidelines of the 2018 Beijing Summit, President Xi Jinping had bilateral meetings with all participating African leaders, including 50 heads of state and government and the Chairperson of the AU Commission. The discussions between Chinese and African leaders on friendship and cooperation brought China-Africa friendly ties and mutual trust to a new height and gave a strong boost to the all-round development of China-Africa relations.