China and Africa have had similar experiences and have common missions, and have been supporting each other in the past few years, forging a distinctive path of win-win cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday, adding that China has always been "genuine, practical, friendly, and frank" with Africa.

Xi made the remarks in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

China is sincere and believes in equality when cooperating with African countries, and over 1.3 billion Chinese people share the same destiny with over 1.2 billion Africans, Xi said.

"We respect Africa, love Africa, and support Africa," he added.

Xi said China pursues common interests and puts friendship first in cooperation. China is pursuing cooperation with Africa in ways that benefit people on both sides, he noted.

He also stressed that China is open and inclusive in its cooperation with Africa, adding that no one can stop and interfere with the positive actions of the international community in supporting African development.