The 16th Senior Officials Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) kicked off in Beijing on Monday, bringing together nearly 300 participants from China and the African continent to review the progress of win-win cooperation within the FOCAC framework and work out ways on further deepening cooperation between China and African counties.
The event saw the attendance of senior officials and representatives from China and 53 African countries and the African Union Commission, as well as observers from international and regional organisations.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li said at the forum that with profound changes unseen in a century and the growing strengthen of developing countries, China and Africa are showing even greater interest in advancing solidarity and cooperation for shared development.
“Staying committed to mutual benefit and shared development, China and Africa have seen ever-widening cooperation with win-win results. Next year, China will host the 9th FOCAC conference. I hope you will take this senior officials’ meeting as an opportunity to comprehensively review the implementation of the outcomes of the 8th FOCAC conference, and actively contribute ideas and suggestions to the hosting of the 9th conference,” Deng told the meeting.
Speaking highly of the achievements of the China-Africa relations and the FOCAC mechanism, senior African officials and representatives expressed their willingness to continue to work closely with China to prepare for next year’s FOCAC conference and promote the joint building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
“Since its inception in 2000, the FOCAC has injected tremendous impetus into the China-Africa ties and has served as a mechanism of friendship, mutual trust, mutual respect, and mutually beneficial cooperation,” said Demba Ba, the diplomatic adviser to the president of Senegal.
At the initiative of both China and African countries, FOCAC was inaugurated at its first Ministerial Conference in Beijing in October 2000, with the goals of responding to the challenges emerging from economic globalisation, and seeking common development.
FOCAC now has 55 members comprising China, the 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China, and the African Union Commission.
