Chinese President Xi Jinping opened this year's FOCAO with a renewed vow for a robust China-Africa friendship despite changing global trends.
Chinese Paramount leader President Xi Jinping has told dozens of African leaders that China-Africa friendship remains robust and grows stronger through generations, no matter how the world changes.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, hosted a banquet on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, to welcome international guests who were in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
The 2024 FOCAC summit, which is currently being held in Beijing, China, will run from September 4 to 6, 2014.
This year's summit is themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa."
Dozens of African leaders, including Liberia's President Joseph N. Boakai, Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki, Chadian President Mahamat Déby, Malawian President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, are attending.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and his delegation arrived in Beijing, China, for the Forum On China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and were welcomed by an Honor Guard, high-level officials of the Chinese Government with captivating Chinese cultural performances.
The visit is a significant step in strengthening Liberia-China relations. It aims to enhance cooperation in agriculture, trade, investment, infrastructure, education, technology, electricity, and cultural exchange.
At FOCAC2024, President Boakai is scheduled to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and engage in business forums and cultural activities to deepen ties between the two nations.
Remarking on the program and making a toast, President Xi said that the China-Africa community with a shared future is deeply rooted in their traditional friendship.
He expressed great pleasure in meeting African leaders on the eve of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), stating that he extends a warm welcome to them all on behalf of the Chinese government and people and in the name of his wife and himself.
According to him, Since the mid-20th century, they have been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder imperialism, colonialism, and hegemonism and advancing hand in hand along the path of development, revitalization, and modernization.
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"The China-Africa community with a shared future thrives on the strength of win-win cooperation. Twenty-four years ago, FOCAC was born at the dawn of a new century. Through this key cooperation platform, we have built roads, railways, schools, hospitals, industrial parks, and special economic zones together. These projects have changed the lives and destiny of many people," President Xi added.
He argued that humans have been dreaming of a community with a shared future, and modernization is the key to turning their dreams into reality.
President Xi stated that China and Africa have been and remain pioneers in building this community and will remain at the forefront of pursuing modernization.
"I am confident that as long as the 2.8 billion-strong Chinese and African people are united for this common goal, we will accomplish new and even greater feats together on the way toward modernization, spearhead the modernization drive of the Global South, and make greater contributions to a community with a shared future for mankind" he urged.
The Chinese visionary leader pointed out that the China-Africa community, with a shared future, is growing in step with the times.
He further indicated that following the Eighth FOCAC Ministerial Conference in Dakar in 2021, they have worked together to fully implement the nine programs and deliver on other meeting outcomes.
" We pulled together in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. We maintained close cooperation and coordination on major international and regional issues. Together, we have made the voice of the Global South stronger," he concluded.
