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Editor's Note: The recent 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg ended up with the expansion of the bloc, a salutary reminder that Africa's star is rising in a multipolar world and that the voice of the Global South is increasingly being heard worldwide. But challenges abound and Africa's development path faces multiple obstacles. In this edition of Leaders Talk, CMG's Wang Guan sat down with Azali Assoumani, president of the Union of the Comoros and chairperson of the African Union, to discuss how to overcome some of the major hurdles standing between Africa and development. Assoumani believes that the African Union-brokered African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and win-win cooperation will boost the continent's road to industrialization and generate substantial sources of fiscal revenue. He reckons that economic unity will eventually bring about political unity. He salutes China's longstanding commitment to Africa, and more specifically to the Comoros, saying China takes on its responsibilities, and hails President Xi Jinping as a great leader.