Senior African politicians say the continent's youth must not fall victim to those distorting information about China. They call for higher levels of cooperation with Beijing to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The comments were made on Saturday in Beijing where the Rwandan and Ethiopian ambassadors attended a forum jointly held by CGTN Think Tank and the China-Africa Business Council.

Challenges, solutions, and the future. COVID-19 has upended just about everything, so it's no surprise it featured at Beijing's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, as senior African politicians, a UN official, a Chinese scholar, and two banking economists spoke about the challenges and opportunities China and Africa are facing now.

Teshome Toga Chanaka, Ethiopian ambassador to China, told CGTN that the significant message he wants to convey at this forum is a continuous partnership. "We should continue working as partners with China and other economies, even in the efforts containing the virus, post-COVID 19 recovery problems, and even long-term efforts should be coordinated. There should be cooperation and unity between Africa and China, between Africa and Ethiopia," he said.

Cooperation between China and Africa runs deeper. From manufacturing and infrastructure, it's now expanded to areas such as public health, education, and the internet economy. One idea raised at the forum is the idea of a "new normal," and how the digital economy can be a driving force through the pandemic's difficult and turbulent waters.

Leslie Maasdorp, vice president & CFO, New Development Bank, said despite the pandemic, the African continent still has all the elements to achieve robust growth in the medium and long term. "Medium age in African population is 19 years today, that's compared to the average European age of 43. What we now need is to enable putting place the kinds of things that can propel and enable this human capital to thrive. That's, for example, accelerate the adoption of technologies. I've lived in China for the last five years, I've seen the benefits of what earlier adoption of technology has done for this country," he explained.

Young Africans are increasingly able to access the internet and get more and more present on social media. African politicians hope them to learn more about the real China.

"They should look at how China transformed itself in the last 40 years. That's a lesson for us. Africans can do it. I think young people should be considered not only the future of the continent but also the continent's present. They have enough talents and skills, but they should certainly spend their time in a very responsible way," said the Ethiopian ambassador to China.

James Kimonyo, the Rwandan ambassador to China, stressed the need to give young Africans the correct information about China. "It's very important that sometimes there are some misreading information from other sources, some of these young people fell victims of those people who were distorting information about China. I think it's critical that we remain focused on contact, giving them the correct information about what China is up to. Because China has spoken highly of much cooperation and a shared future, which is a very good message for the young generation," the ambassador said.

Looking to the future, the guests at this forum agreed the younger generation is one of the main groups shaping China-Africa relations. They stress the need to exploit the full potential of the internet and digital economy to develop a better understanding of each other, and stronger China-Africa ties.