BEIJING: The fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) will be held in Beijing from July 19 to 20. It is yet another major event in the history of friendly relations and cooperation between China and Africa.

Since its inception in 2000, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has grown to be the premier mechanism for collective dialogue and practical cooperation between China and Africa in the new era.

It has enabled China-Africa cooperation to expand in scale and scope and advance to a higher level. In particular, the Beijing Summit and third Ministerial Conference of the Focac in 2006 marked a milestone in China-Africa relations, as it launched a new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa featuring political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchanges and mutual learning.

The upcoming Ministerial Conference will be the first of its kind in the second decade of the 21st century. State leaders from China and some African countries will attend the opening ceremony. Ministers of foreign affairs and economic cooperation from China and 50 African countries, as well as the chairperson of the African Union Commission, will participate in the Conference. Under the theme of “build on past achievements and open up new prospects for the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership”, the Conference will take stock of the implementation of the outcomes of the fourth Ministerial Conference held in Egypt in 2009 and draw the blueprint for China-Africa relations in the coming three years.

The last three years have seen fast growth in China-Africa relations, with rich results in many areas:

The two sides have enhanced political mutual trust. There were more frequent high-level exchanges and a deepening of all levels of exchanges and cooperation across the board. President Hu Jintao and other State and Party leaders of China paid visits to Africa. China’s relations with friendly African countries and regional organisations such as the African Union enjoyed all-round development. China firmly supported Africa in seeking strength from unity and promoting the integration process.

In 2011, China-Africa trade reached a record high of US$166.3 billion, and China remained Africa’s largest trading partner for the third consecutive year. More than 2,000 Chinese companies were established in Africa with direct investment totalling $14.7 billion.The world today is experiencing major development, major change and major adjustment.

Peace, development and cooperation are a stronger trend than before. Yet new challenges keep emerging. The world economic situation remains complex and challenging. Turbulence persists in some regions. Uneven development continues unabated. Africa has maintained overall peace, stability and development, yet it also faces more uncertainties and factors of instability. People in all African countries desire to achieve enduring peace and stability, accelerate self-generated development, seek strength from unity and promote international cooperation.

China and Africa are good friends, good partners and good brothers. To consolidate and strengthen friendship and cooperation with African countries has always been an important component of China's independent foreign policy of peace. Under the new situation, China will remain committed to working with African countries to advance the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership and make greater contributions to the peace and development of Africa and beyond.

China will remain firmly committed to deepening practical cooperation with Africa. We will seize the opportunities presented by the accelerated development of China and Africa to expand the scope, innovate the ways and enhance the quality of our cooperation. We will bear in mind both current and long-term needs and lay greater emphasis on helping Africa build development capacity when providing assistance.

We will advance China-Africa cooperation in a way that contributes to Africa's self-generated and sustainable development and brings about greater benefits to both sides.

China will remain firmly committed to enhancing people-to-people and cultural exchanges with Africa. Such exchanges will have a more important place in China-Africa relations. We will establish more exchange platforms and flagship programmes. We will have more direct exchanges between Chinese and African cultural entities, media organisations, NGOs, and think tanks, thus nurturing a favourable public opinion environment and social foundation for sound and stable China-Africa relations.

China will remain firmly committed to making the Focac a continued success. In the spirit of innovation and keeping pace with the changing times, we will improve Focac institutions, enrich its substance and create more highlights. We will adopt cooperation proposals that meet the call of our time and the need of the two sides, so that the Focac will continue to be the standard-bearer for China-Africa relations, an effective platform for strengthening our dialogue and communication and an important engine driving practical cooperation between China and Africa.

“Good friends value the promise they make, even if it means travelling a thousand miles to meet.” Convened once every three years, the Focac Ministerial Conference is a promise between China and Africa. It is friendship that will bring our African friends to Beijing, to join their Chinese brothers and sisters. Now, the stage is set for the fifth Ministerial Conference, and expectation is high on both sides. I believe that, with our joint efforts, the Conference will be a great success, one that will take the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership to a new level.

By arrangement with the China Daily/ANN