President of Djibouti arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit

China

President of Djibouti arrives in Beijing for FOCAC summit

2024-09-02 02:36 Last Updated At：12:57

President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti arrived in Beijing at midnight on Monday to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held in the Chinese capital from September 4 to 6.

President Guelleh has visited China 10 times, most recently in 2019 for the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Djibouti is a member of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), and actively participates in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

This year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Djibouti. Since their establishment, the two countries have developed smooth cooperation across various fields. Djibouti has consistently supported China on issues concerning its core interests and major concerns.

China has been providing assistance to Djibouti since 1979. In recent years, Chinese companies have been involved in the construction of major projects, including the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway and the Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port.

China and Djibouti have signed a cultural cooperation agreement. Since 1986, China has granted government scholarships to Djiboutian students. In March 2023, the first Confucius Institute in Djibouti was officially inaugurated.

The upcoming FOCAC summit's theme is "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future." Many African leaders, including Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairman of the African Union Commission, will lead delegations to the summit. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend as a special guest, and relevant international and regional organizations will participate as observers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the summit’s opening ceremony on September 5.

Following the 2006 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, and the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the upcoming summit will be another happy reunion for the friendly family of China and Africa. It will also be the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years.

Canadian economist criticizes Canada's latest tariff against Chinese Evs

2024-09-15 11:24 Last Updated At：11:37

The reasons the Canadian government cited to impose additional import tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are weak, said Canadian economist Mark Kruger on Friday.

Kruger noted that the latest tariff announcement would do no good to the Canadian people or meeting Canada's carbon emissions targets.

On Aug 26, Canada said it would impose a 100 percent tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and announced a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China.

The Canadian government claimed that this move is to protect Canadian jobs, but the argument is far from convincing, said Kruger.

"Clearly, by putting 100 percent tariff on those electric vehicles, they're not helping Canadian consumers, because they're making those vehicles more expensive. So I think that this policy, it doesn't help either Canadian workers or Canadian consumers. Canada has its own carbon emissions targets and goals, and by maintaining a high price for electric vehicles, they're pushing the achievement of those goals farther into the future," said Kruger.

China deplores and firmly opposes the Canadian government's act, which has blatantly violated WTO rules, blindly followed certain countries and taken unilateral tariff measures against Chinese products, as a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, describing such practices as "typical trade protectionism".