Journalists from Africa are among those covering this year's Two Sessions in Beijing. China has long had a profound relationship with the continent. I spoke with two African reporters about their thoughts on China's transformation and its ties with their home regions.

This year's Two Sessions, the annual political gathering in China, refer to the first session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) and the first session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

I met the first reporter, Ezekiel Mwambopo, who was in his home country of Tanzania only five months ago. Now he is in Beijing, reporting on China's most important political gathering for the state-run China Radio International. 

Ezekiel said Chinese President Xi Jinping's 2013 visit to Tanzania, where he pledged to deepen China's ties with Africa, inspired him to work in Beijing and learn more about China. He told me, "When you talk about China and when you talk about Xi Jinping, I think to this new generation, everything in the world is well-known, how powerful is President Xi, and how his thoughts is important to the global economy situation. That's what President Xi is doing. Since he's in power, he has changed China, and of course, apart [from changing] China, he has gone far away to change the world, to make the world the good living place for everybody."

As his first time reporting such an important political event in China, Ezekiel Mwambopo is excited, and absorbing old and new information from the press conference.

The second reporter from Africa is Trixy, who works for KTN NEWS in Kenya. It is her first time in Beijing covering the Two Sessions. She said China has done a lot for her country's development.

She told me: "President Xi Jinping would enable Africa to also learn from China, not just benefit from the project, will be able to learn, [which] is going to allow Africa [to] stand up on its own. Even in the future, [it can] set up the project [on] its own, because they have learned from the Chinese people."

China and Kenya completed the major construction project of the Standard Gauge Railway in 2017, which is currently operating in Kenya. The Chinese-built railway is Kenya's largest ever infrastructure project.

At a press conference on Thursday, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke about China's relations with Africa. He said: "Africa faces the twin challenges of maintaining peace and security and of promoting development revitalization. In response to its needs, China will step up mediation in regional flashpoints, as well as cooperation with African countries on unconventional security threats such as terrorism, piracy, and natural disaster, and help them build capacity for ensuring their own peace and security.”