Chinese President Xi Jinping joined leaders from across Africa at a business conference here Friday and put forth a five-pronged proposal on further deepening win-win cooperation between the world's second-largest economy and the fast developing continent.
In the high-level dialogue with Chinese and African business dignitaries, which also concluded the fifth China-Africa enterprises conference, Xi told the hundreds of participants that China sincerely hopes to share its industrialization experiences with African countries and help the continent advance its own industrialization with financial, technological and talent support.
To that end, Xi suggested that China and African countries stick to equality-based and win-win cooperation, strike a right balance between principles and profits, and jointly build a community of common destiny. China-Africa cooperation should also be open and inclusive, he said, adding that the two sides should welcome the involvement of enterprises from other countries that uphold the principle of mutual benefit.
Meanwhile, China and Africa should focus on practical cooperation oriented to capacity-building, said Xi, who pledged that China is willing to share its advanced and applicable technologies with Africa without reservation and deepen bilateral industrial cooperation so as to improve the quality of Africa's workforce, increase employment and lift the continent's endogenous growth impetus.
Also, the two sides need to pursue green and sustainable development, and China will help its African partners deal with climate change, improve environment protection and train professionals in related areas, Xi said. In addition, he suggested that China-Africa cooperation prioritize infrastructure construction, so as to bring tangible benefits to all the people.
The Chinese president said that China-Africa cooperation in the areas of industry, infrastructure construction, investment and trade facilitation will enhance the competitiveness of African industries and help cover the infrastructure shortage in Africa. Their cooperation in the fields of modern agriculture, green development, poverty reduction and people's welfare will help African countries establish a sustainable development model, enhance independent development capacity, improve public governance and raise the quality of life of the African people, he added.
In his speech, Xi praised Africa as the fastest growing and most promising continent in the world, noting Africa's vibrant process of industrialization and urbanization has injected fresh dynamism into global economic growth. China, according to the president, has become Africa's principal cooperation partner in several significant areas. By the end of 2014, the total stock of Chinese investment in Africa had reached 101 billion U.S. dollars, resulting in more than 3,100 Africa-based enterprises.
In 2014, two-way trade reached 221.9 billion dollars, according to Xi. South African President Jacob Zuma, who co-chairs the summit together with Xi, and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who holds the rotating African Union chair, also addressed the conference. Prior to the event, the three presidents inspected a China-Africa equipment manufacturing industry exhibition.
Chinese and African leaders are in Johannesburg for the second summit of the 15-year-old Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which groups China, 50 African countries that have established diplomatic ties with China, and the Commission of the African Union. Earlier Friday, the two-day summit was kicked off with a widely-watched speech made by the Chinese president.
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