China reiterates commitment to stronger ties with Africa

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (2nd L), Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng (1st L), South African Minister for international relations and cooperation Nkoana Mashabane (2nd R) and South African Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies attend the 6th ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Pretoria, South Africa, Dec. 3, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

PRETORIA - China on Thursday reiterated her commitment to further promoting relations with African countries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the sixth ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Pretoria, South Africa, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing is committed to rejuvenating bilateral ties with the World's second largest continent.

The bilateral cooperation between China and African countries has accomplished huge strides in diverse areas like trade, security, agriculture, health, people to people exchanges and technology transfer, said the foreign minister.

"China and Africa have deepened strategic mutual trust and traditional friendship. The frequent political exchanges and dialogue between the two sides have provided further guidance for China-Africa cooperation," Wang told African foreign ministers.

The ministerial conference was a precursor to the FOCAC summit to be chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma on Friday and Saturday.

The foreign ministers discussed the agenda items that will be presented to the Heads of State for adoption.

Wang said that implementation of resolutions that were adopted in the previous FOCAC summits has gone into overdrive.

"Thanks to our joint efforts in the past three years and more, solid progress has been made in follow up actions in the five key areas adopted at the 5th ministerial conference in Beijing," Wang remarked.

He added the Chinese government has prioritized key areas like finance and investment, peace and security, people to people exchanges and regional integration to boost Africa's socio-economic progress.

The FOCAC summit will provide an opportunity for China and African states to dialogue on viable strategies that would accelerate the continent's development.

Wang said China will engage African countries on a mutual basis to help them address pressing challenges like poverty, youth unemployment, skills and infrastructural bottlenecks.

"FOCAC provides an important platform for practical dialogue; it is a model for South-South cooperation. Our goal is to help African people realize development and prosperity," Wang remarked.

Sino-Africa cooperation has evolved to focus on emerging challenges affecting the African continent including climate change, wildlife crimes, conflicts and the Ebola pandemic.

Wang clarified that China will not impose its political or economic models to African states but will rather support homegrown initiatives to tackle the continent's myriad challenges.

"China firmly supports Africans in addressing African issues in an African way, actively facilitates peace talks and pushes for political settlement of hotspot issues in the continent," Wang told African foreign ministers.

He reiterated that China will support multilateral initiatives that aim to promote peace, security, economic development and environmental sustainability in Africa.

Policymakers, industry executives and scholars from China and Africa have lately engaged in robust conversation on how to strengthen bilateral ties and achieve mutual benefits.

Wang enumerated key achievements of FOCAC summits that includes regular dialogue forums among senior policymakers and think tanks to explore new areas of cooperation.

"Important headway has been made in building Sub-forums of FOCAC. Sub-forums on people to people exchanges, media, law and think tanks have become regular and mature," said Wang.

He added that Sino-Africa dialogue on environmental protection and development of industrial parks has progressed without a hitch.