China-Africa group discusses poverty reduction issues in video conference

The China-Africa Friendship Group of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference held a video conference on Monday with parliamentarians from eight African countries to discuss poverty reduction issues in China and Africa.

The China-Africa Friendship Group was established in June last year, the first of its kind in the history of the CPPCC. It is committed to implementing outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Forum, deepening exchanges and cooperation between the CPPCC and relevant institutions in African countries, expanding China-Africa dialogue and consultation in multiple fields, promoting China-Africa practical cooperation and consolidating China-Africa friendship.

The eight parliamentarians are from Benin, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Guinea, Cameroon, Comoros, Mauritius and Senegal. They gathered online with several CPPCC members to share experiences on the theme of Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development.

Guo Jun, deputy secretary-general of the CPPCC National Committee and deputy head of the China-Africa Friendship Group, said 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the forum's establishment and over the past 20 years, China-Africa cooperation has yielded fruitful results. Now facing the COVID-19 pandemic, China and African countries have supported each other to overcome difficulties together, which once again demonstrates the value of the community with a shared future.

This year also marks a milestone for China, he said. As the country heads to become a moderately prosperous society and sets course on building a modern socialist country, China will definitely bring more opportunities for countries in the world, including African countries, to share China's high-quality development achievements.

As a continent with a large number of developing countries, Africa is a main "battleground" for global poverty reduction, he said, adding that achieving prosperity is "the expectation of all African people and the wish of all Chinese people".

The African parliamentarians have praised China's efforts in combatting poverty and think highly of the achievements. They also raised multiple questions to CPPCC members to learn more about China's experiences.

Hassan Omar Mohamed, a member of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly of Djibouti, said the friendship and cooperation between the two countries have been fruitful in many areas in terms of politics, economy and trade.

Chinese enterprises and government also have given special support in employment and poverty reduction for Djibouti, helping promote closer bilateral relations.