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Chinese FM's visit to Africa deepens Sino-Africa ties

Updated: June 27, 2017 Source: Belt and Road Portal
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a speech at the opening of the China-Africa High-level Dialogue and Think Tank Forum on Poverty Reduction and Common Development at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on June 21.

In his speech, Wang said that it was his 12th visit to Africa since he became China's foreign minister and he had so far visited 31 African countries. The frequency and widening scope of his visit to Africa attests to the strong ties between the two sides.

With the implementation of alignment between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and development plans of African countries, the two sides have carried out cooperation on industrial capacity and infrastructure projects on the African continent.

In October 2016, the Chinese-built Ethiopia-Djibouti railway was officially launched. The rail line, which links the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the port of Djibouti in Djibouti, has not only greatly increased the logistics speed between the two localities, but boosted development of industrial parks and special economic zones along the route.

The Mombasa-Nairobi railway, which went into operation on May 31, is the biggest infrastructure project in Kenya since its independence in 1963.

China and Africa have achieved substantial outcomes in cooperation in trade, investment, contracting projects and cultural exchanges. China surpassed the United States to be Africa's largest trade partner in 2009 and has retained the position for seven consecutive years. The continent is China's third largest overseas investment market and the second largest overseas engineering contract market.

By mid-2016, China's investment in Africa had exceeded US$100 billion, with more than 3,100 Chinese enterprises opening businesses.

China has also built seven large-scale trade and economic cooperation zones in African countries including Zambia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia.

On June 21, Wang talked about five priority areas in cooperation between China and the AU:  the alignment of development strategies of the two sides, carrying out peace and security cooperation, strengthening public health cooperation, human resources development and coordination on regional and international issues.

The visit is expected to inject new dynamics into China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership.

(The author is He Wenping, a senior researcher at the Charhar Institute and a senior research fellow at the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. This is an excerpt from her article which was first published in Chinese. The translator is Li Yang. )

Editor: zhangjunmian