BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted more than two dozen African leaders at a banquet in Beijing on Wednesday, kicking off the city’s biggest summit in years with promises of cooperation in infrastructure, energy and education.
China, the world’s number two economy, is Africa’s largest trading partner and has sought to tap the continent’s vast troves of natural resources including copper, gold, lithium and rare earth minerals.
It has also furnished African countries with billions in loans that have helped build much-needed infrastructure but also sometimes stoked controversy by saddling governments with huge debts.
Twenty-five African leaders have arrived in Beijing or confirmed attendance at this week’s China-Africa forum, according to an AFP tally, including some whose countries face a rising risk of debt distress.
Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan welcomed guests as they arrived for a lavish dinner at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday evening, live AFP footage showed.
There was also a “family” photo of the gathered leaders and Xi will give a speech at an opening ceremony on Thursday morning.
The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has helped change many lives as it offers a platform through which roads, railways, schools and hospitals are built, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday in a toast at the welcome banquet for guests attending the 2024 FOCAC summit.
Xi said he has visited Africa 10 times and has also hosted many leaders from African countries during their visits to China.
He was particularly struck by the solid foundation, high starting point and bright future of building the China-Africa community with a shared future, Xi said, adding that it has set a shining example for the creation of a community with a shared future for humanity.
Since the mid-20th century, China and African nations have fought side by side in struggles against imperialism, colonialism, and hegemonism and have walked hand in hand on the path of development and modernization, he said.
Regardless of how the international situation changes, the friendship between China and Africa has continued and grown stronger over time, the Chinese president said.
Xi said the China-Africa community with a shared future has grown stronger by advancing with the times.
Since the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC was held in 2021, China and African countries have worked tirelessly to implement the outcomes of the meeting, including the nine programs, Xi said, adding that they have supported each other in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and collaborated closely on major international and regional issues, together raising a powerful voice for the Global South in this new era.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Cameroonian President Paul Biya on Wednesday announced the elevation of China-Cameroon ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Xi met with Biya, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital.
Biya’s attendance at all previous editions of the summit demonstrated the great importance he attached to China-Africa friendship and cooperation, as well as his profound amity with China, Xi said.
China is ready to work with Cameroon to foster a more substantive and significant partnership and advance the bilateral ties to a higher level, Xi said.
He noted that China has always supported Cameroon in safeguarding national unity and ethnic solidarity, fighting terrorism, as well as achieving peace and development.
China appreciates Cameroon’s active participation in multilateral affairs and is ready to strengthen communication and coordination with it to jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, said Xi.
Biya said Cameroon is ready to maintain high-level exchanges with China and deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with it.
With its favorable geographic location and high-quality human resources, Cameroon welcomes more Chinese investment in the country, which helps translate its advantages in mineral resources into development momentum, he said.
Cameroon firmly adheres to the one-China principle, appreciates and supports the series of global initiatives put forward by President Xi, and is ready to strengthen multilateral cooperation with China to promote global governance that is more conducive to world peace and international justice, said Biya.
