Senior Chinese official Yang Jiechi attended the opening ceremony of the second China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, which opened on Sunday in Changsha, capital city of central's China's Hunan Province.

Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said that the expo has become a new platform for implementing the economic and trade measures of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and promoting economic and trade cooperation with Africa at local levels.

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Hailing the increasing mutual trust and fruitful cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, infrastructure, and emerging industries between China and Africa, Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said that China will unswervingly support Africa's search for strength through unity, and support the economic and social development of African countries.

He called on the two sides to align development strategies, work jointly to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and strengthen pragmatic cooperation on economy, trade, interconnectivity, green development, human resources development and other fields.

China will build a new higher-level open economic system and create a more attractive business environment, which will open a broader space for China-Africa cooperation, Yang said.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Senegalese President Macky Sall, and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune addressed the opening ceremony via video link, vowing to jointly build the Belt and Road, implement the Initiative on Partnership for Africa's Development, and further advance bilateral cooperation.