Xi Story: A warm greeting in Swahili

BEIJING -- Addressing audiences in Tanzania in March 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping started with the Swahili greeting "Habari," meaning "How are you?"

Africa was on the itinerary of Xi's first overseas trip as Chinese president that year, and this warm gesture in Tanzania, which elicited thunderous applause, underscored his deep affinity for the continent.

Xi's interest in Africa is partly shaped by his childhood experiences. "Chinese people of my age grew up in a warm, friendly atmosphere with Africa," he told a South African TV station before his trip, reminiscing about stories such as the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway in the 1970s.

During a period pivotal to economic development for both Tanzania and Zambia, this railway greatly improved the connectivity of the two African countries, providing the latter, a landlocked nation rich in copper, with access to the sea via the port city of Dar es Salaam. Today, the railway is still playing its role.

Scores of Chinese technicians and workers lost their lives during the railway's construction process. During his 2013 trip to Tanzania, Xi visited a cemetery where some of them were laid to rest. In a light drizzle, he carefully arranged the ribbons on a wreath and placed flowers at their tombs.

"Their names will be engraved, along with the railway, in the hearts of the Chinese people and the peoples in Tanzania and Zambia," he said.

China tightened its belt to help its African brothers build the railway, even during its own period of poverty, Xi recalled during a meeting with visiting Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in 2022.

"Now that China is more developed, it is better placed to act on the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, help our African friends achieve common development, and build a stronger China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era," Xi said, reiterating the principle he had introduced during his 2013 trip to Africa to guide China's approach toward the continent.

China-Africa cooperation has expanded significantly under this principle. Over the years, China and African countries have worked together to build or upgrade close to 100,000 kilometers of roads, more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 1,000 bridges and almost 100 ports.

"China and African countries are destined to be good friends, good brothers and good partners, and China-Africa cooperation stands as a fine example of South-South cooperation," Xi said in his speech at the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg in 2018.

In his 2013 speech in Tanzania, Xi also recalled how African countries rushed to China's aid after a devastating earthquake hit Wenchuan in 2008. An African country, not well-off itself, donated 2 million euros (around $2.2 million), an act that Xi said had "warmed our hearts."

China-Africa friendship has not been an overnight achievement, nor has it been gifted from on high, Xi said. "Rather, it has been fostered throughout the years when China and Africa supported and stood alongside each other in trying times."

To date, Xi has visited Africa five times as president, setting foot on many countries across the continent. From the 10 cooperation plans proposed at the 2015 Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to the eight major initiatives announced at the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, numerous measures have been implemented to forge a closer China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

Themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," the 2024 FOCAC summit will be held in Beijing from Sept 4 to 6.

Xi will attend the opening ceremony of the summit, which is anticipated as another joyful reunion of the China-Africa family.