The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing, September 2-4. It is six years since the summit was last held in China and it will be the country’s largest diplomatic event for this year.
In advance of the summit, on August 31, the Xinhua News Agency published a guest opinion contributed by Li Xiang, China’s Ambassador to Eritrea. The Ambassador notes that:
“Politically, China and Africa share the same aspirations and vision. China and Africa have supported each other in fighting imperialism, colonialism and racism, based on similar suffering in recent history. In the struggle for national independence, China and Africa, as members of the Global South, have been united in their common goal, extending mutual assistance and having been the most distinctive, steadfast and major supporters of each other’s anti-imperialist, anti-colonial and anti-hegemonic struggles.”
On economic matters, he reiterates that: “China will always walk side by side with Africa on its path to modernisation and join hands with Africa to inject strong impetus into the promotion of an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation.”
Both China and Africa, Li underlines, “have had the tragic experience of being colonised, and we cherish the golden rule of sovereign equality, oppose the big abusing the small and the strong bullying the weak, advocate the equality of all countries, large and small, and oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”
Noting that, following his historic state visit to China in May 2023, President Isaias Afwerki will lead the Eritrean delegation to the summit, and alluding to the inspiration that the Eritrean people drew from the experience of the Chinese revolution during their liberation struggle, Ambassador Li writes: “China and Eritrea have established a strategic partnership and are in a unique position to build a closer community with a shared future. The two countries share similar philosophies, and their people maintain close contact.”
Meanwhile, in the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press conference on August 30, spokesperson Lin Jian said that China and Africa endured colonialist and imperialist suppression and invasion, and the two sides supported each other and fought together on the road of anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism and won the independence of their countries and the liberation of their nations.
“Therefore, we deeply cherish independence, self-determination, fairness and justice; we agree on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence; we are committed to building an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation; and we both aim to make the international order more just and equitable.”
China and the African countries stand for bridging the gap between rich countries and poor ones, reject all forms of interference by big powers and economic coercion, and ask developed countries to face up to their historical responsibilities and deliver on their development commitments.
“At the upcoming FOCAC Summit next week, the two sides will enhance unity and cooperation among developing countries to augment the strength of the Global South, jointly champion international fairness and justice, and advance the peace and development of the world,” Lin said.
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.
Jointly build a closer China-Africa community with shared future to push forward China-Eritrea strategic partnership
October 31 (Xinhua) — by Li Xiang (Chinese ambassador to Eritrea).
The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing on Sept. 4-6. Chinese and African leaders will gather in Beijing again after six years to discuss future development and cooperation and exchange governance experience. H.E. President Isaias Afwerki will lead the delegation of Eritrea to attend this summit, following his historic state visit to China in May 2023. Through this summit, China and Africa will enhance their long-standing friendship and deepen unity and collaboration to open up new vistas for faster common development and start a new chapter for a China-Africa community with a shared future.
The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. The waves of anti-globalization, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise. Global crises such as geopolitical conflicts and climate change occur frequently. Humankind is at a crucial crossroads, and China-Africa cooperation and development are facing more uncertainty. China’s answer to the question of “where is human society headed and how can China-Africa cooperation develop” is to build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future. This is the trend of the times and the common voice of the people of China and Africa.
Politically, China and Africa share the same aspirations and vision. China and Africa have supported each other in fighting imperialism, colonialism and racism based on similar suffering in recent history. In the struggle for national independence, China and Africa, as members of the “Global South,” have been united in their common goal, extending mutual assistance and having been the most distinctive, steadfast and major supporters of each other’s anti-imperialist, anti-colonial and anti-hegemonic struggles.
Economically, both China and Africa face the task of modernization. China is the world’s largest developing country and the largest economy in the “Global South,” while Africa is the continent with the highest concentration of developing countries and the greatest wealth of resources. Advancing their respective modernization is the historic mission of China and Africa. China will always walk side by side with Africa on its path to modernization and join hands with Africa to inject strong impetus into the promotion of an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.
Culturally, China and Africa share similar values. Chinese culture is based on the concept of unity and harmony, and upholds the value of “paramount importance of peace” and “seeking harmony without uniformity,” emphasizing “the whole world is one family.” The philosophy of the traditional African value, Ubuntu, believes that “I am because we are,” and emphasizes the interdependence and inseparability of people. There is also an Eritrean proverb that says, “Together, we can bring down the elephant.” All of these reflect the importance that the people of China and Africa attach to solidarity and their shared future.
Looking back at the past and looking forward to the future at this critical juncture of history, the only way for China and Africa to tide over the difficulties and create a bright future is to sail in the same boat.
China and Africa must adhere to the principle of sovereign equality. Both China and Africa have had the tragic experience of being colonized, and we cherish the golden rule of sovereign equality, oppose the big abusing the small and the strong bullying the weak, advocate the equality of all countries, large and small, and oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
China and Africa should realize the vision of peace and security. The security of one country cannot be built on the insecurity of others. China and Africa should support the Global Security Initiative, advocate the practice of a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable concept of security, promote development and security through cooperation, and build a more balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture.
China and Africa must pool their efforts to build prosperity together. To realize the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, no country should be left behind. China and Africa should actively implement the Global Development Initiative, advocate inclusive economic globalization and promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, so that the people of China and Africa can share the fruits of development.
China and Africa must uphold the concept of fairness and justice. The world is no longer a jungle world. Fairness and justice are our common pursuit. China and Africa should advocate the Global Civilization Initiative, practice true multilateralism, promote mutual understanding among peoples and promote tolerance and mutual appreciation among civilizations.
China and Africa must defend the common values of all humankind. Peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom are the common values of all humankind and the common pursuit of all peoples. We should respect the development paths and institutional models independently chosen by the people of all countries and refrain from imposing one’s values and models on others or engaging in ideological confrontation.
China and Eritrea have established a strategic partnership, and are in a unique position to build a closer community with a shared future. The two countries share similar philosophies and their people maintain close contact. China has long been the largest trading partner of Eritrea, and the two countries have signed Memorandum of Understanding on Belt and Road cooperation. Both China and Eritrea advocate international fairness and justice, and have always supported each other on issues regarding each other’s core interests and major concerns. In May last year, President Isaias paid a successful state visit to China, and the strategic partnership between China and Eritrea had been elevated to a new level.
As Chinese Ambassador to Eritrea, I will faithfully work with the Eritrean side to effectively implement the important consensus of the two heads of state. I am ready to be a sincere listener to the Eritrean government and people, a builder of friendship between China and Eritrea, and a promoter of bilateral practical cooperation to contribute to the building of a closer China-Africa and China-Eritrea community with a shared future.
China, African countries safeguard global peace, promote development: FM spokesperson
BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) — China and African countries both advocate and work for safeguarding international peace and security and promoting global development and prosperity, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said here Friday.
Some African figures have said that both Africa and China face complex challenges, and it is important that the two sides jointly uphold multilateralism, safeguard world peace and development, and contribute wisdom and strength to improving global governance.
Spokesperson Lin Jian told a daily press briefing that China and Africa endured colonialist and imperialist suppression and invasion, and the two sides supported each other and fought together on the road of anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism, and won independence of the countries and liberation of the nations.
“Therefore, we deeply cherish independence, self-determination, fairness and justice; we agree on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence; we are committed to building an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization; and we both aim to make the international order more just and equitable,” he said.
Lin pointed out that China and Africa practice true multilateralism, uphold the international system with the UN at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as the basis, and reject colonialist approaches and hegemonic moves.
He said that the two sides firmly support each other’s core interests and uphold developing countries’ just position, working to build an open world economy, tear down walls rather than erect walls, seek openness rather than exclusion, and enable developing countries to better share the benefit of globalization.
China and African countries stand for bridging the gap between rich countries and poor ones, reject all forms of interference by big powers and economic coercion, and ask developed countries to face up to their historical responsibilities and deliver on their development commitments, Lin said, adding that both sides are committed to promoting the political settlement of international and regional hotspot issues, advocate dialogue to bridge differences and cooperation to resolve disputes, and call for ceasefire of the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The two sides firmly support efforts of transcending cultural estrangement through exchanges and promoting inclusiveness and mutual learning among civilizations, and advocate that the representation and say of developing countries, especially African countries, need to be increased in the international governance system, Lin said, adding that China is the first to support the African Union’s full membership in the G20 and welcomes more African countries to join the big family of BRICS.
China and Africa are the staunch force for defending the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, upholding the purposes of the UN Charter, and safeguarding multilateralism and international fairness and justice. “At the upcoming FOCAC Summit next week, the two sides will enhance unity and cooperation among developing countries to augment the strength of the Global South, jointly champion international fairness and justice, and advance the peace and development of the world,” said Lin.
Way to go, China & Africa ✊💞✌️✔️