Chinese Foreign Ministry briefs media on President Xi's attendance of 2024 FOCAC

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday briefed the media on Chinese President Xi Jinping's attendance of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the holding of related events.

The summit, taking place from September 4 to 6, will include four high-level meetings on state governance, industrialization and agricultural modernization, peace and security, and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, as well as related activities such as a conference of Chinese and African entrepreneurs, said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong.

Chen said President Xi will deliver a keynote speech, and elaborate on new concepts and propositions for the building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, as well as announce new measures for practical cooperation with Africa.

President Xi will also hold bilateral meetings with foreign leaders attending the summit, he said, adding that the summit will adopt two outcome documents to build up the major consensus reached by the two sides and plan the implementation path of high-quality China-Africa cooperation in the next three years.

Twenty-four years since its establishment, the FOCAC has become the "golden sign" of China-Africa cooperation and a banner for deepening cooperation in the Global South, Chen pointed out.

Under the joint promotion of President Xi and African leaders, China and Africa focus on friendly cooperation and solidly advance the construction of the forum and the implementation of the results, pushing China-Africa relations to achieve leap-forward development, said Chen.

The building of a China-Africa community with a shared future moves toward a higher level, he said, noting that President Xi has visited Africa five times so far, summarizing the spirit of China-Africa friendly cooperation and outlining the development of bilateral relations in the new era.

Speaking of the high-quality development of China-Africa mutually beneficial cooperation, he said the two sides align the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the development strategies of African countries.

Meanwhile, China jointly implements 10 cooperation plans, eight major initiatives and nine programs with African countries within the FOCAC framework, continuing to promote the upgrading of China-Africa cooperation, he added.

China is the developing country with the largest investment in Africa and has maintained its position as Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, demonstrating the strong resilience and vitality of China-Africa cooperation, Chen said.

On China-Africa strategic collaboration, Chen said both sides work together to advocate an equal and orderly multi-polar world and inclusive economic globalization that benefits all, and jointly practice and implement the three major global initiatives, setting a prime example of unity and cooperation in the Global South.

Taking this summit as an opportunity, China is ready to work with Africa to promote the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future to a new level, and continue to write a new chapter of mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and African people, he said.