China-Africa ministerial meeting kicks off in Beijing

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The Seventh Ministerial Conference of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC) is held in Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and all 49 Ministers from African countries participated in the Sunday meeting.

Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, and Burkina Faso were welcomed and congratulated as new FOCAC members at the meeting.

The meeting is to prepare for the Beijing Summit of the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held from Monday to Tuesday, with the theme of "China and Africa: toward an even stronger community with a shared future through win-win cooperation."

This year marks the 18th anniversary of the establishment of FOCAC and the forum has become a model of South-South cooperation and a banner of international cooperation with Africa, Wang said, adding that China-Africa cooperation has made substantial achievements since the 2015 Johannesburg Summit.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at the Seventh Ministerial Conference of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum. /CGTN Photo

He believes that the FOCAC will play a significant role in upholding common prosperity and win-win outcome to pave the way for constructing a community where all members could live a peaceful life and exercise tolerance.

The FOCAC is an important platform for dialogue between China and African states and an effective mechanism for pragmatic cooperation, he noted, stressing that China and all the African members have established representative offices with each other.

During the FOCAC Beijing Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping will put forward the specific vision on building a China-Africa community with a shared future, and announce proposals and measures by the Chinese side to strengthen China-Africa cooperation in the future, Wang said, adding that the summit will be a historical one that will enhance China-Africa solidarity and cooperation.

African countries appreciate China's long-term assistance and support, admire its enormous achievements, and are willing to learn from the country's development experience, said Lindiwe Sisulu, the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Sisulu also noted that African countries would work closely with China to push for a successful FOCAC Beijing Summit.

(CGTN's Hou Na contributed to the story)