5th China-Africa People's Forum opens in SW China

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The fifth China-Africa People's Forum kicked off in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu on Monday. Hundreds of representatives from China and about 30 African countries gathered to discuss how to promote mutual friendships further and bolster cooperation from social and people-to-people perspectives.

During his congratulatory letter to the event, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the forum as an important bridge between the Chinese and African people, which has played an active role in promoting people-to-people exchanges between the two sides over the past years.

Xi said he hopes the forum provides an opportunity for all the participants to build consensus by sharing their ideas and experiences, to contribute their insights on people-to-people cooperation between China and Africa, so as to "inject fresh vitality and garner strong support for the building of an even closer community with shared destiny between China and Africa."

Participants of the forum attend a panel discussion. /CGTN Photo

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. He said that non-governmental organizations from both sides should play a greater role by actively engaging in the formulation of international rules, thus defending the interests of developing countries.

Many participants say there is still a lot of untapped potential in exchanges between civil societies on both sides. This will help to address common challenges and reach win-win cooperation when the world is faced with rising uncertainties.

"Our expectations from this meeting is that we can understand one another more, that the civil society of China and Africa will appreciate each others' realities, priorities and challenges and see how we can exchange the good practices and learn lessons where we think we should do better, so that we can only succeed in the future," Vincent Meriton, Vice President of Seychelles, told CGTN.

Vincent Meriton, the vice president of Seychelles, takes questions from the media. /CGTN Photo

Meriton stressed that the civil society sector has a critical role to play in complementing what the government and private sectors are doing.

The forum serves as a warm-up for the upcoming Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Many attendees believe that the summit will further consolidate the foundation for mutual friendship and cooperation.

Clement Mouamba, the prime minister of the Republic of the Congo, said he expected the summit to be a great success regarding its scale and accomplishments.

Clement Mouamba, the prime minister of the Republic of the Congo, answers questions from media. /CGTN Photo

"The Chinese government has given a lot of support to China's civil society in advancing people-to-people exchanges with African countries. Many concrete measures show that as a responsible power, China attaches great importance to its relations with Africa," he added.

The meeting will culminate with the release of a solid partnership plan that will outline the exchange blueprint between the two peoples for the next few years.

Some attendees, including those from NGOs, think tanks, enterprises and media, also bring forward their suggestions on further advancing the exchanges.

"I think we can try to establish some subdivided mechanisms, such as an environmental platform for people of this area. Enterprises and social groups can also search for mechanisms suitable for closer cooperation," said Gao Mengze, the program officer from All-China Environmental Federation.