The Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has just concluded in Changsha, China. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Meeting, pointing out that openness and cooperation are the right path, and mutual benefit and win-win outcomes meet the aspiration of the people.
China and Africa working together to advance modernization will strongly promote solidarity and cooperation in the Global South and open up a brighter prospect for the cause of world peace and development. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony, expressing his hope for the all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
China-Africa Changsha Declaration On Upholding Solidarity and Cooperation of the Global South was unanimously adopted at the meeting. The List of Outcomes of the Implementation of the Follow-up Actions of the Beijing Summit of FOCAC released after the meeting was rich and detailed. This is another significant move by China and Africa on the path to implementing the outcomes of the 2024 Beijing Summit of FOCAC and advancing comprehensive cooperation.
Political mutual trust between China and Africa has deepened further. In his keynote speech, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that when China and Africa stand side by side, there will be more hope for the development and rejuvenation of the Global South and more security for international fairness and justice.
For a long time, China and Africa have worked closely together on multilateral occasions such as the United Nations, the G20 and BRICS, firmly supported each other’s core interests, resolutely upheld the basic norms governing international relations and strongly defended the common interests of developing countries.
The Changsha Declaration, issued at the Meeting, calls on all countries to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to address the challenges of unilateralism and protectionism, demonstrating China and Africa’s confidence and determination to work together to safeguard the interests of the Global South, defend multilateralism and build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Practical cooperation between China and Africa has reached a new level. Trade between China and Africa reached a record high of nearly 300 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. China further announced at the meeting that it is willing to negotiate and sign the agreement of China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development and expand the zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines to all 53 African countries having diplomatic relations with China, and at the same time provide more facilitation for exports from Africa’s least developed countries to China.
China is willing to work with Africa to further implement the ten partnership actions, strengthen cooperation in key areas such as green industries, e-commerce and payment, science and technology, and artificial intelligence, deepen cooperation in traditional fields, and promote high-quality development of practical cooperation. The fourth China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, held concurrently, attracted nearly 4,700 Chinese and African enterprises and initially reached cooperation projects worth over 11 billion US dollars, creating more opportunities for cooperation between China and Africa and providing more solid support for building the all-weather community with a shared future between the two sides for the new era
People-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Africa have opened up new dimensions. The Meeting released the Concept Paper of 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, focusing on exchanges in areas such as education, culture, tourism, sports, science and technology, people’s livelihood and green development, gathering forces from youth, women, media and think tanks, and planning to hold the China-Africa future leaders dialogue, the China-Africa cultural and tourism cooperation and exchange meeting, and the “Hundred Teams and Thousand Villages Tour” of aid medical teams. We will carry out programs such as the capacity enhancement program for African women leaders and the innovation and entrepreneurship program for African youth, and continue to inject the vitality of “heart-to-heart connection” to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the people and consolidate the friendship between China and Africa for generations to come.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of FOCAC. Over the past 25 years, the Forum has served as a solid bridge for China-Africa solidarity and cooperation and a model for Global South cooperation. It has been the best platform to lead China-Africa relations to leapfrog development and has always translated the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith into practical actions that benefit both sides. The fruitful results of China-Ethiopia cooperation are the most vivid footnote to this process.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ethiopia. Just nine months after the Beijing Summit of FOCAC, China and Ethiopia have been actively implementing the outcomes of the Summit and the consensus reached by our both leaders, achieving a series of encouraging results: China supports Ethiopia’s accession to the World Trade Organization and the New Development Bank, and bilateral market access negotiations are about to take place.
The two sides signed the agreement of China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development and are actively promoting modular negotiations. The zero-tariff treatment facilitates the export of Ethiopian products such as coffee, avocados and flowers to China.
A large number of Chinese entrepreneurs have made new investments in Ethiopia, contributing their wisdom and strength to the industrialization of Ethiopia and the implementation of the “Made in Ethiopia” strategy. Chinese electric vehicles are increasingly favored by Ethiopian consumers and can be seen everywhere in Addis Ababa. Chinese cross-border e-commerce is steadily expanding the Ethiopian market, with platform building and talent cultivation in full swing. With the participation of Chinese enterprises, green and clean projects, including those in Addis Ababa, will effectively improve environmental pollution situation. Cooperation on infrastructure development continues to deepen, with Chinese enterprises actively participating in the construction of the new airport, helping Ethiopia to consolidate its status as an “African hub”.
The China-Africa (Ethiopia) – United Nations (Industrial Development Organization) Cooperation Demonstration Center has been inaugurated. Confucius Institutes and Luban Workshops continue to play a platform role, and a variety of activities have enabled Chinese language and vocational education to thrive in Ethiopia. Cooperation on the restoration of historical video materials helps restore important video materials such as old films in Ethiopia. Short-term training and degree programs are in line with Ethiopia’s actual needs, and the number of trainees has ranked first in the world for many years. Emergency malaria and cholera assistance programs have been implemented, and extensive cooperation has been carried out in medical training, traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment, and vaccine donations.
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The implementation of the second batch of projects to help Africa get rid of minefield has been steadily advancing. China and Ethiopia have also continued to carry out a series of practical cooperation in areas such as news media, healthcare and green transition, achieving fruitful results.
At present, the world is undergoing rapid changes, globalization is encountering headwinds, and unilateralism, protectionism and power bullying are on the rise from time to time. The more so, the more China and Africa need to unite and strengthen themselves, stand firmly on the right side of history, actively lead the way of the times, and respond to the uncertainties of the international environment with the stability and resilience of China-Africa relations. We believe that under the guidance of the spirit of the Meeting, strategic mutual trust between China and Africa will be stronger, practical cooperation will be deeper, and multilateral collaboration will be closer.
China is willing to work with all African countries, including Ethiopia, to promote an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive globalization. Let the “golden key” of China-Africa cooperation unlock the door to a future of common development.
Chen HAI, (Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia)