Jointly advancing modernization, building high-level China-Africa community with shared future

For Eric Ngirababyeyi, who is pursuing a master's degree at a university in east China's Jiangsu Province, a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping is one of the best things to have happened to commemorate his school life in China.

In a reply letter last July to Ngirababyeyi and 36 other international students pursuing master's degrees in auditing at Nanjing Audit University, Xi encouraged them to use auditing as a window to better understand China and make contributions to deepen the friendship and cooperation between China and their own countries.

"Based on the education, based on field study, and also based on the good hospitality of this country, we have been planning to write a letter to President Xi for what they did. Honestly, I didn't expect a response in a few weeks like that," Ngirababyeyi said.

Ngirababyeyi worked as an auditor at Rwanda's Office of the Auditor General before coming to China for the international master's program in auditing. Launched in 2016, the program has trained more than 280 people working for auditing agencies in 76 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

Ngirababyeyi noted he and his classmates learned a lot about the auditing, and said they would bring their auditing experience and knowledge back to their countries. 

The young Rwandan is just one of the more than 50,000 African students studying in China every year. China has become a preferred educational destination for many young Africans, according to the Chinese Mission to the African Union.

China has trained more than 220,000 personnel from African countries, taking into account their actual needs, said Bai Bin, an official of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), at a recent press briefing.

China's cooperation with Africa in human resource development has been very fruitful. It has not only helped African countries train many talents but also improved their capacity for independent development, empowering them to maintain the momentum of sustainable development, according to the CIDCA.

On August 24, 2023, at the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue, President Xi announced China's launch of the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development. It stressed that cooperation on talent development between China and Africa should be oriented toward modernizing governance capacity, promoting economic and social development, enhancing efficiency through scientific and technological innovation, and improving people's well-being.

President Xi also urged China and Africa to join hands for modernization at the dialogue. China is willing to launch an initiative to support Africa's industrialization, which will support Africa in growing its manufacturing sector and realizing industrialization and economic diversification.

Under the China-proposed BRI, China-Africa cooperation in infrastructure has yielded fruitful results, with high-quality projects playing a pivotal role in advancing Africa's industrial development and economic transformation.

Over the past decade, China has built over 6,000 kilometers of railways and roads, nearly 20 ports, and more than 80 large power facilities in Africa, according to Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. 

In 2013, President Xi announced the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith for China's Africa policy. Over the past 10 years, China has stayed committed to this principle. 

When addressing the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), President Xi expressed confidence that the baton of China-Africa friendship would be passed from one generation to the next and that China and Africa, working together, would build an even more vibrant community with a shared future.

Under the theme "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," the 2024 FOCAC summit is set to be held in the Chinese capital Beijing from September 4 to 6. 

The 2024 FOCAC summit is expected to explore ways to strengthen friendship and cooperation and write a new chapter on building a China-African community with a shared future.

(Cover: Workers build a bridge, which is part of the China-built Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, at Nairobi National Park in Nairobi, Kenya, November 23, 2016. /CFP)