On 7 March 2021, at a press conference on the margins of the Fourth Session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), H.E. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi answered questions from Chinese and foreign media about China's foreign policy and external relations. Here are his remarks on China-Africa relations:
Wang Yi: China and Africa enjoy a profound friendship forged during the struggle for national independence and liberation. We are comrades-in-arms as well as brothers and sisters. This bond of friendship is growing ever stronger as time goes by. China and Africa are perpetual good friends and good partners with a shared future.
We celebrated the 20th anniversary of FOCAC last year. Over the past two decades, we have formulated and implemented ten cooperation plans and eight major initiatives to promote China-Africa cooperation. Our two-way trade has increased 20 times, and China's direct investment in Africa has grown 100 times. There are now 150 pairs of sister cities between China and Africa. China-Africa cooperation stands as a model of South-South cooperation, and a fine example of international cooperation with Africa.
To help African countries fight the pandemic and bring the economy back on track is a top priority for China-Africa cooperation at the current stage. Last year, President Xi Jinping initiated and hosted the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19, and announced a host of new support measures. We have provided close to 120 batches of emergency supplies to Africa and sent medical expert teams to 15 African countries. We have started to provide COVID vaccines to 35 African countries and the African Union Commission. The construction of the Africa CDC Headquarters, a project for which we are glad to provide assistance, has started, and cooperation between 30 pairs of Chinese and African hospitals is well underway.
The FOCAC meeting to be held this year in Senegal will serve as another opportunity for advancing China-Africa cooperation. We will support Africa's efforts to defeat the virus and strengthen public health governance; to accelerate industrialization and build up capacity for self-generated development; to speed up African integration and embrace the trend of economic globalization; and to find political solutions to hotspot issues and maintain peace and stability on the continent. We will work with Africa to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and build an even stronger community with a shared future to drive Africa's development and revitalization.
The full text of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Meets the Press can be accessed at
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjb_663304/wjbz_663308/2461_663310/t1859138.shtml