More than 60 scholars, think tank leaders and media representatives from China and 13 African countries signed a joint proposal on Friday regarding Africa and China collaboration in the fight against COVID-19.

The proposal, which calls for experience sharing, capacity building, and public health cooperation between China and Africa to fight COVID-19, is the outcome of an international online video conference themed "Fighting Against COVID-19 and Africa-China Cooperation."

The proposal is written into six languages, including Chinese, English, French, Arabic, Swahili and Hausa.

Dr. Liu Hongwu, dean of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University said that Africa and China have long formed a community with a shared future. Comprehensive cooperation is not only injecting robust vitality into the China-Africa relationship, but also further strengthening China-Africa ties amid the COVID-19 crisis.

At the conference, experts discussed the current situation and trends of COVID-19 in Africa and China-Africa public health cooperation. As confirmed cases are rising in the African continent, the conference aims to consolidate the consensus, expand communication channels, and make contributions to the joint fight against COVID-19.

Cheryl Hendricks, dean of the Africa Institute of South Africa emphasized that the timing of the conference is very important for both China and Africa. It will bring think tanks from both sides together to provide valuable support for governments and society to battle the epidemic.

The conference is co-hosted by the Africa Institute of South Africa, the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies of Nigeria and the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University. Scholars, think tank leaders and media representatives from China, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Mali, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Somalia, Madagascar and Burkina Faso joined the online conference.

(Cover photo: International video conference on“Fighting Against COVID-19 and Africa-China Cooperation"./Photo courtesy of Institute of African Studies and Zhejiang Normal University.)