On May 25, 2024, Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong attended and addressed the Africa Day reception jointly held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the African diplomatic corps in China.
Chen Xiaodong extended holiday greetings to African friends, saying that strengthening solidarity and cooperation with Africa is China’s unswerving strategic choice. No matter how the international landscape changes, the Chinese and African people always stand together and help each other, and the traditional friendship between China and Africa has grown stronger. This year is a great year for China-Africa relations, and a new summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held. The Chinese side is ready to work with the African side to take the summit of FOCAC as an opportunity to continuously deepen China-Africa cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and the three major global initiatives, so as to jointly write a new chapter in China-Africa friendship and build a higher-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
Martin Mpana, Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps in China and Ambassador of Cameroon to China, delivered remarks on behalf of the African diplomatic corps in China, praising the great achievements China has made under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and thanking China for its long-term valuable support to Africa’s development and revitalization. He expressed the willingness of the African side to maintain close collaboration with the Chinese side in jointly preparing for the new summit of the FOCAC, promoting the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the three major global initiatives, and advancing the building of a community of with a shared future for mankind. The African side reiterates its firm commitment to the one-China principle.
A video speech on Africa Day from the rotating chairperson of the African Union and President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani was also played on the spot.
Nearly 500 people from relevant Chinese ministries and academic institutions, entrepreneur representatives of China and Africa, and diplomatic envoys of African countries in China were present.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.
