Xi chairs meeting on flood control, relief work

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday chaired a meeting on China's flood control and disaster relief efforts, calling for authorities at all levels to stay highly vigilant and proactive to win the tough battle against floods.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, chaired the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to study and arrange work related to flood control and disaster relief as China has entered a critical period in its fight against floods.

Pointing out the grim and complex flood control situation this year, the meeting said important progress has been made in flood control and relief thanks to efforts from CPC committees and governments at all levels, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, relevant departments and institutions, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the People's Armed Police Force (PAPF), firefighters and professional rescue forces, as well as officials and residents.

The meeting stressed that China is at a key stage of its flood control work as high flooding risks in several Chinese rivers and the approaching of an active period for typhoons have made the flood control situation more severe and complicated, and urged relevant regions and authorities to remain vigilant and resolutely win the battle of flood control and relief.

The meeting pointed out that ensuring people's safety should always be the top priority of China's flood control work, and called for efforts to improve monitoring and warning measures, increase response speed, and minimize casualties.

It also called for measures to ensure the safety of major dikes, reservoirs and other important infrastructure, and to strengthen investigation efforts to eliminate risks.

The meeting urged all-out rescue and relief efforts, timely allocation of relief funds and supplies, prompt repair of power supplies, transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as solid disaster prevention and relief work for the agricultural sector.

Support should be provided to affected residents to prevent disaster-related poverty, and measures should be taken to continuously improve the comprehensive disaster prevention capacity across the whole of society, according to the meeting.

Party committees and governments at all levels should earnestly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, shoulder their political responsibilities, and ensure the development and safety of local regions, the meeting said.

It also requested strengthened overall planning by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, proactive leadership and guidance by officials at all levels, close coordination between relevant authorities, and valiant flood fighting by CPC organizations and members at the grassroots level to safeguard people's lives and property.

Xi chairs meeting on flood control, relief work

Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit resonated with the common aspiration of more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people and demonstrated China's firm will of moving forward hand-in-hand with Africa along the path of development, revitalization and modernization, several participants at the event have said.

In his speech on Thursday, Xi proposed that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

He also announced that the Chinese government will provide 360 billion yuan (about 50.8 billion U.S. dollars) of financial support to Africa over the next three years.

"Everyone was happy to hear those news, so everyone was clapping. So now we are going to a higher level of relations between China and Africa," said Hamidou, a counselor at the Embassy of Comoros in Beijing.

"China understands Africa's urgent desire to advance modernization. We can learn a lot from China's development," said Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Karamoko Jean Marie Traore.

Xi also suggested 10 partnership actions for modernization that China will take together with Africa in the next three years to deepen China-Africa cooperation and spearhead modernization in the Global South.

"President Xi, through his long vision of the needs of countries and his interest in supporting development, has offered this as a real vehicle to promote exports of Africa to China, which is a huge market," said Alaa Ezz, secretary general of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Professions (UACCIAP).

"As he told this morning, we have many projects in digitalization, in capacity building, in health centers, support for health, for infrastructure, in the framework of the Belt and [Road]. And we think that we are very satisfied with this partnership. This is a win-win partnership," said Gabriel Mbairobe, Cameroon's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, the 2024 FOCAC summit brought together leaders from China and over 50 African countries, who highlighted the common pursuit of China and African countries in realizing modernization.

During the summit, both sides unanimously adopted two important documents -- a declaration on jointly building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era, and an action plan of the FOCAC for the next three years.

Xi's speech at FOCAC summit resonates with people's common aspiration: participants