Address by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Reception Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

20 years ago, shortly after the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, Chinese and African leaders gathered in Beijing for the first FOCAC conference, opening a new page in China-Africa relations. After 20 years of development, the Forum, in line with the general trend towards peace, development and cooperation, has become a banner of cooperation with Africa and a fine example of multilateralism and win-win cooperation.

In 20 years, FOCAC has significantly consolidated China-Africa solidarity and friendship. China and Africa have continued the deep bonds of friendship forged in the national liberation struggle and have lent each other firm support on issues affecting vital interests and major concerns on both sides. Together, we have strengthened the place and influence of developing countries in the world and safeguarded the global interests of developing countries.

In 20 years, FOCAC has contributed significantly to the joint development of China and Africa. In 2019, China-Africa trade stood at US$208.7 billion and the stock of Chinese direct investment in Africa reached US$49.1 billion, respectively 20 times and 100 times larger than 20 years ago. The two sides jointly developed the "ten cooperation programmes" and the "eight major initiatives". China has helped Africa implement them, including by building dozens of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation zones and industrial parks on the African continent , more than 6,000 kilometers of railways, more than 6,000 kilometers of roads, nearly 20 ports, more than 80 large power generation facilities, more than 130 health facilities, 45 stadiums and more than 170 schools.

In 20 years, FOCAC has significantly strengthened the bonds of friendship between the Chinese and African peoples. The China-Africa Think Tank Forum, the China-Africa People's Forum, the China-Africa Press Center and the China-Africa Youth Festival have steadily expanded and are now playing a more important role as a bridge between Chinese and Africans. China has provided a total of about 120,000 government scholarships to African countries and established 61 Confucius Institutes and 44 Confucius Classes in partnership with 46 African countries. It has sent 21,000 health professionals to 48 African countries who have provided care to an estimated 220 million people. In 2014, when West Africa was hit by the Ebola epidemic, more than 1,000 Chinese doctors and nurses went to help the affected people in defiance of the dangers. When COVID-19 suddenly arrived, China and Africa led a fight against the coronavirus side by side. Last June, President Xi Jinping and African leaders held an extraordinary summit against COVID-19 and sent a strong message of solidarity with the virus. The China-Africa friendship has proven to be ever more powerful and solid through all these struggles we have fought and all these trials that we have overcome together.

Today's world is going through transformations not seen in a century. The new challenges and the new situation call for new commitments and new actions. How can we ensure a new dynamic and better quality for China-Africa cooperation? How to meet the challenges to achieve an innovative development of the FCSA? To answer all these questions, I would like to put forward a four-point proposal and discuss it with African friends:

First, we need to strengthen solidarity to build an even stronger China-Africa shared future community. We must pursue the principle of "sincerity, real results, friendship and frankness" and the principle of seeking the greatest good and shared interests and firmly support efforts on both sides to defend national sovereignty and dignity, to seek independently a path of development adapted to national realities and to preserve the right to legitimate development in order to achieve national recovery together.

Second, we must overcome hardships to build a China-Africa health community for all. China is ready to work with Africa to properly implement the achievements of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and the China-Africa Extraordinary Summit on COVID-19 Solidarity. We look forward to providing vaccines to African countries in need when vaccines are developed and deployed to help them defeat the virus as quickly as possible.

Third, we need to conduct win-win cooperation to build a China-Africa development community. China will continue to support Africa in building infrastructure, industrializing and strengthening its self-development capabilities. China welcomes the construction of the African Continental Free Trade Area and will provide its secretariat with financial support and capacity-building training. We need to deepen cooperation on free trade and the integration of industrial and supply chains to help Africa take better advantage of the Chinese market and better integrate into the international economic circuit.

Fourth, we must shoulder our responsibilities to build a community with a shared future for humanity. China and Africa are both firm defenders of multilateralism and major forces for world peace and development. We must shoulder our historic responsibilities and firmly defend the central role of the United Nations in global and multilateral affairs, the basic norms governing international relations and multilateralism, equity and justice.

The FCSA is our common good. It is important for us to keep it in line with time and ensure its exemplary role in China-Africa relations. The next conference of the forum is scheduled for next year in Senegal. The Chinese side is willing to work together with the African side to properly prepare this event and its outcomes so that it contributes to synergizing China's Second Centenary Goal and the AU's Agenda 2063, expand China-Africa cooperation in new fields. bring more benefits to the Chinese and African people and take the China-Africa partnership of comprehensive strategic cooperation to a higher level.