China reaffirms support for Africa

For the past 35 years, China's foreign ministers have started each annual round of overseas visits with a trip to Africa, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday, describing the practice as unwavering and unchanging.

The top Chinese diplomat made the remarks as he met with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia's president-elect, during his annual New Year visit. The southern African country was Wang's first stop.

The annual African visit is a fine tradition and a distinctive feature of China's diplomacy, he said.

By upholding the tradition, China hopes to show the world that, despite the changes in the international and regional landscape, it remains Africa's most trustworthy friend, its most reliable partner in pursuing development and vitalization, and its strongest supporter on the international stage, he said.

Wang noted that China cherishes the friendship with the continent, because the two sides have always understood, trusted, supported, and helped each other in pursuing national independence and liberation, as well as in seeking common development.

China has elevated its relations with all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties to the strategic level, and the overall characterization of China-Africa relations has been elevated to an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era. This highlights the need for China and Africa to firmly stand together and to further deepen cooperation, he said.

Strengthening solidarity and cooperation and jointly safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries serve the common aspiration of the 2.8 billion people from both sides, he added.

In his meeting with Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba in the country's coastal resort town of Swakopmund, Wang said that China is ready to work with Namibia to implement the 10 partnership action plans China proposed at the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Beijing last year, helping Namibia accelerate its modernization process.

Wang's weeklong Africa trip will also take him to the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria.

Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the four countries reflect different aspects of China's cooperation with Africa.

China has broad and in-depth cooperation with Namibia and the Republic of the Congo in areas such as energy and infrastructure, Song said. And Chad, as one of the least developed countries in West Africa, has benefited significantly from China's assistance, which has contributed to its economic and social development, she said.

Nigeria is the largest economy in West Africa and has considerable influence within the region and the African Union, and strengthening China-Nigeria cooperation is crucial for advancing Africa's development, she added.

He Wenping, a researcher with the Institute of West Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that a key agenda of Wang's visit is to further communicate and coordinate with African nations on how to implement the political consensus and concrete action plans of the Beijing FOCAC summit, especially on how to ensure a solid start for a three-year action plan.

She noted that this year presents numerous opportunities for China-Africa trade cooperation and boosting Africa's economic growth.

China has granted zero-tariff access to its market for products from 33 African countries starting in December, and the implementation of the three-year action plan, which begins this year, covers 10 key areas, including trade and investment, industrial chain cooperation, and green development.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday that China always believes that Africa is never "the lost continent," but the land of hope and source of dynamism.

The African Development Bank predicted that Africa's average growth would rise to 3.7 percent in 2024, exceeding the projected global average.

In recent years, Africa's export growth to China has outpaced China's exports to the continent, with an increasing amount of African agricultural products entering the Chinese market. Researcher He Wenping said she believes that bilateral trade will further expand by 2025.