President sees better Africa ties

China and Africa will not waiver in their resolve to build an even stronger community of a shared future no matter how the international situation changes and how external forces may disturb their cooperation, President Xi Jinping said on Friday.

Xi made the remark when chairing a meeting with leaders of African countries in Osaka, Japan, on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 Summit.

Xi said China and Africa should serve as pacesetters for the rest of the world in win-win cooperation and shared development.

He called for aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with the African Union's Agenda 2063, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the development strategies of individual African countries. He also called for implementing the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to deliver more tangible benefits to Chinese and African people.

China will honestly fulfill its commitment to African countries, continuously support the development of Africa and make greater contributions to the rejuvenation and independent growth of the continent, he said.

Xi said international cooperation with the continent should follow an Africa-first approach, with the African countries' will respected and their interests safeguarded, while self-centered attitudes or moves that harm others for one's own benefit should be rejected.

China stands ready to push for the international community to increase investment in Africa, work along with the UN to help the continent properly address the global challenges, and together with the UN and its international partners, develop third-party cooperation in Africa based on the demand and needs of African countries, Xi said.

Xi also called on African countries to uphold multilateralism and the international order and oppose protectionism, unilateralism, bullying and the idea that conflicts between cultures are inevitable.

Legitimate concerns, rights and interests of developing countries, particularly those of the African countries, should be fully addressed to safeguard international fairness and justice, he added.

Also attending the meeting were South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, also former African co-chair of FOCAC; Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, also rotating chair of the African Union; Senegalese President Macky Sall, current African co-chair of FOCAC; and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The African leaders hailed China-Africa cooperation as pragmatic and efficient, and they said cooperation projects have responded to the realistic needs of African countries.

They expressed the hope that other countries will follow China in assisting Africa, provide the continent with more capital for development and improve its development level.

Guterres praised China's role in promoting African development, and said China-Africa cooperation is significant to fulfilling the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The meeting, initiated by China and welcomed by African countries, has injected fresh impetus into joint efforts to build an even stronger China-Africa community of shared future, Dai Bing, director-general of the African Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a news conference after the meeting.

It helps consolidate a new consensus on safeguarding the interests of developing countries and speaks louder for upholding multilateralism and the international order, Dai said.