World News

China issues white paper on China-Africa cooperation in new era

By Li Feng, People’s Daily

China’s State Council Information Office (SCIO) released a white paper titled “China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals” on Nov. 26, several days ahead of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which is scheduled for Nov. 29 to 30 in Dakar, capital of Senegal.

The white paper consists of about 21,000 Chinese characters and three parts, namely foreword, main body, and conclusion. The main body of the document was divided into four sections: Building an Even Stronger China-Africa Community of Shared Future, AllRound China-Africa Cooperation in the New Era, Strengthening Mutual Support, and Breaking New Ground in China-Africa Relations.

Thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and Xi Jinping Thought on Foreign Affairs, the white paper gives a full account of the positive results of China-Africa cooperation since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), expounds on China’s Africa policy and position on China-Africa relations, and lays out a beautiful vision of realizing new progress in China-Africa relations and building an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future, said Shou Xiaoli, deputy head of the Press Bureau of the SCIO and SCIO spokesperson.

“China is the largest developing country in the world, and Africa is the continent with the largest number of developing countries. Shared past experiences, similar courses of struggles and development tasks have brought China and Africa close together,” said Wu Jianghao, China’s assistant minister of foreign affairs, at the press conference on the white paper held by the SCIO on Nov. 26.

“The traditional friendship between China and Africa enjoys popular support and special historical position in the landscape of China’s diplomacy,” Wu noted.

The white paper titled “China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals” is the first white paper released by the Chinese government to comprehensively introduce the cooperation between China and Africa and also the first white paper on the fruits of the cooperation between China and a region in the world since the 18th CPC National Congress, according to Wu.

The white paper is aimed at providing a comprehensive introduction to the principles of China’s Africa policy as well as the practice and rich fruits of China-Africa cooperation in the new era, welcoming the successful convocation of the FOCAC ministerial conference in Dakar, enhancing the international community’s understanding of China-Africa cooperation, and contributing China’s experience and wisdom to international cooperation with Africa and even global development and cooperation, Wu pointed out.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Chinese President Xi Jinping has paid high attention to the development of ChinaAfrica relations and has personally drawn blueprint for China-Africa cooperation, Wu said.

At the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit and the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, Xi and African leaders unanimously decided to elevate the ChinaAfrica relations to a comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and reached a strategic agreement to build a China-Africa community of shared future characterized by joint responsibility, win-win cooperation, happiness for all, cultural prosperity, common security, and harmony between humanity and nature, Wu recalled.

These important decisions ushered in a new era of ChinaAfrica relations, brought cooperation between the two sides to an unprecedented high level, and set an example for advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind in the new era, Wu noted.

According to Wu, pragmatic cooperation between China and Africa has enjoyed rapid development since the beginning of the 21st century, especially after the founding of the FOCAC in 2000.

China has built more than 80 large-scale power facilities for African countries, funded over 130 medical facilities, 45 sports venues and over 170 schools in Africa, trained more than 160,000 personnel for various fields in Africa, and built a series of flagship projects on the continent, including the African Union (AU) Conference Center, he disclosed.

Besides, Chinese enterprises have utilized various funds to help African countries build and upgrade more than 10,000 km of railways, nearly 100,000 km of highways, nearly 1,000 bridges and 100 ports, Wu said.

They have also helped African countries build a communications backbone network of 150,000 km and a network service covering nearly 700 million user terminals, he added.

China and Africa have also continuously expanded their cooperation in emerging fields, such as digital economy, aviation and aerospace, clean energy, and new infrastructure, said Wu.

China-Africa cooperation has yielded fruits across the African continent, he said, adding that the bilateral cooperation has improved the conditions for economic and social development in Africa, brought tangible benefits to both Chinese people and African people, and created favorable conditions for international cooperation with Africa.

Currently, both China and Africa have entered a new development stage, Wu Peng, director-general of the Department of African Affairs of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at the press conference on the white paper.

China is promoting the building of a new development paradigm featuring dual circulation, in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay, Wu Peng said, noting that the endeavor will generate more opportunities for Africa’s development.

Africa is making efforts to expedite economic integration, providing broader room for growth in China-Africa cooperation, Wu Peng pointed out.

A press conference is held by China’s State Council Information Office (SCIO) to release a white paper titled “China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals” in Beijing, Nov. 26. (Photo/ Zhang Yu)

China and BRI countries share fruits of agricultural cooperation under BRI

By Gao Yuncai, People’s Daily

During the past eight years since China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the country has made continuous efforts to promote pragmatic cooperation with countries participating in the BRI in agriculture, a key sector of BRI cooperation, and realized mutual complementarily and common development in the sector with relevant countries.

So far, China has signed agreements on agricultural cooperation with 86 BRI countries and established stable working mechanisms with more than half of them. Over the past eight years, China has invested in more than 820 agricultural projects in BRI countries.

The country’s investment stock in BRI countries has exceeded $17 billion. Last year, its trade volume of agricultural products with countries participating in the BRI totaled $95.79 billion.

In 2012, China Shandong International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group Ltd. (CSI) and Shandong Lumian Group, both based in Jinan, capital of east China’s Shandong province, jointly registered a new company named New Epoch

Agriculture Development Company in Sudan for the building of China-Sudan Agricultural Cooperation Development Zone.

The first phase of the project involves a total planned investment of $50 million, of which $46 million has been realized.

In 2017, the China-Sudan Agricultural Cooperation Development Zone was recognized as one of the first batches of 10 overseas agricultural cooperation demonstration zones by China’s Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs.

Consisting of a central area in the Rahad irrigation area in El-Fau town, El-Gadarif State, Sudan, and multiple industrial parks, the ChinaSudan Agricultural Cooperation Development Zone focuses on the development and building of free trade platforms for various links of the industrial chain from cultivation bases for superior varieties and breeds, planting and breeding bases to agricultural products processing, logistics services, and trading.

Through a development model featuring shared benefits and win-win results, the agricultural cooperation development zone has driven the agricultural development of the entire Rahad irrigation area that covers an area of 2.2 million mu (about 146,670 hectares).

The continuously deepened agricultural cooperation between China and Sudan has brought tangible benefits to local Sudanese people.

At present, the ChinaSudan Agricultural Cooperation Development Zone is advancing the construction of its industrial parks with steady steps, according to Sun Lei, deputy general manager of new era agricultural development company, Ltd., adding that it is also conducting negotiations with relevant enterprises in the industrial chain on cooperation.

The construction of these industrial parks has to a large extent, helped solve the problem of employment for local people and increased their income, Sun disclosed.

With the construction of these industrial parks progressing steadily, great changes have taken place in ElFau town in recent years, Sun said, explaining that the road condition in the town has got better, its markets have become busier, and many local people have replaced their bikes with motorcycles.

In September, 2016, Guangdong Guangken Rubber Group Co., Ltd., based in south China’s Guangdong province, took over Thai Hua Rubber Public Company Limited, which was the third-largest natural rubber producer in the world, becoming one of the largest natural rubber operators in the world that own a complete industrial chain.

The Chinese company has launched 42 natural rubber projects that are independently run, in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, and Singapore, building a development framework that features a complete industrial chain including research and development, breeding of saplings, plantation management, deep processing, storage and logistics, and international trade. The company produces and sells more than 700,000 tons of dry rubber products from its overseas projects in a year.

In recent years, by carrying out mergers and acquisitions and building its factories, Guangdong Guangken Rubber Group Co., Ltd. has opened 26 natural rubber processing factories in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia with a total production capacity of 1.3 million tons. The rubber factories invested by the Chinese company have boosted the benefits of planting rubber trees, created a large number of jobs for local people, and boosted tax revenues for the local governments. The Chinese company also opened schools for children of its local employees and built public facilities, improving the livelihood of the local communities.

In recent years, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and relevant authorities have jointly issued the Vision and Action on Jointly Promoting Agricultural Cooperation on the Belt and Road, and held the International Food Loss Reduction Conference and the International Forum on Black Soil Conservation and Utilization, sending a signal of strengthening agricultural cooperation and sharing the development outcomes of modern agricultural development to the world.

Sui Pengfei, director-general of the international cooperation department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, expressed that in carrying out Belt and Road agricultural construction, China aims to improve top-level design further, facilitate docking of policies and mutual recognition of standards with participating countries, promote agricultural service trade to become a new growth point for international cooperation, build a platform for agricultural cooperation, push forward agricultural cooperation, and share development results.