Editor's Note: China and Guinea-Bissau established diplomatic ties forty years ago, and a milestone in bilateral ties was reached in November 2021 with the West African country officially joining the Belt and Road Initiative. How has the scope of cooperation and commercial opportunities between the two sides expanded? How does Guinea-Bissau's infrastructure, transportation, electricity, agriculture and healthcare benefit from its partnership with China? In this edition of Leaders Talk, CMG's He Yanke sat down in Beijing with Umaro Sissoco Embaló, president of Guinea-Bissau, during his state visit to China on July 9-13. "China has always supported Guinea-Bissau, playing an important role in our nation-building," Embaló said to underline that both countries have been traditional partners since the beginning of the national liberation struggle of Guinea-Bissau. And as more agricultural produce reaches China's consumer market, Embaló believes that "maintaining close cooperation with China is crucial" for his country. He also highly appreciates Chinese President Xi Jinping's global initiatives. "These initiatives help us see how to truly overcome crises and continued political turmoil," he remarks.