The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has helped change many lives as it offers a platform through which roads, railways, schools and hospitals are built, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in a toast at the welcome banquet for guests attending the 2024 FOCAC summit.
Xi said he has visited Africa 10 times and has also hosted many leaders from African countries during their visits to China.
He was particularly struck by the solid foundation, high starting point and bright future of building the China-Africa community with a shared future, Xi said, adding that it has set a shining example for the creation of a community with a shared future for humanity.
Since the mid-20th century, China and African nations have fought side by side in struggles against imperialism, colonialism, and hegemonism and have walked hand in hand on the path of development and modernization, he said.
International guests attending the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation are greeted by children on their way to a welcome banquet held by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, September 4, 2024. /Xinhua
Regardless of how the international situation changes, the friendship between China and Africa has continued and grown stronger over time, the Chinese president said.
Xi said the China-Africa community with a shared future has grown stronger by advancing with the times.
Since the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC was held in 2021, China and African countries have worked tirelessly to implement the outcomes of the meeting, including the nine programs, Xi said, adding that they have supported each other in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and collaborated closely on major international and regional issues, together raising a powerful voice for the Global South in this new era.