Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders from African countries will work together to draw a new blueprint for China-Africa relations in the new era at the upcoming 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Xi had a number of bilateral meetings on Monday with African leaders, who are in the Chinese capital for the FOCAC summit scheduled to take place from Wednesday to Friday.
China-Africa relations, which Xi considers to be of great importance, have entered a new stage of building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future under the guidance of head-of-state diplomacy.
"The summit is committed to drawing a new blueprint for China-Africa cooperation in the new era, joining hands to advance modernization and working together to build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future," Xi said during a meeting with Malian President Assimi Goita on Monday.
Under the theme of "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," Chinese and African leaders will renew their friendship, explore cooperation and talk about the future during the summit.
"At this summit, we will work together to determine the new position of China-Africa relations, announce a series of major measures for jointly advancing modernization, and draw a new blueprint for the development of China-Africa relations," said Xi when meeting with President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi.
Following the 2006 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, and the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the upcoming summit, the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, will see leaders from China and Africa reuniting.
Xi will deliver a keynote speech at the summit's opening ceremony on Sept 5.
Xi, African leaders to draw new blueprint for China-Africa relations at FOCAC summit
At the final day of the 47th WorldSkills Competition in the French city of Lyon, the race for medals heated up, with participants from roughly 70 nations showing their mettle.
Formerly known as the International Vocational Training Organization, WorldSkills is an international charity, which organizes national championships for vocational skills. Every two years, the organization hosts a competition, attracting competitors from around the world.
This year's competition ran from Wednesday to Saturday, with the closing ceremony on Sunday. The event brought together approximately 1,400 participants from nearly 70 countries and regions to compete in 59 skill categories spanning vocations ranging from artwork to welding.
China sent 68 participants to participated in 59 different disciplines.
Teams say it is a collaborative environment, but winning gold can help make their professional career's sparkle.
"I think it's for their career, for the whole of their life. And then they can join this field and they can have a very good start of their journey, their life," said Zou Ningxin, a jewelry expert of Team China.
Medals may be up for the grabs but the goal of the biannual Workskills Expo is also for crowds here to draw inspiration.
This event is designed to give people a little taste of different parts of the working world and what ingredients are needed to be successful in a chosen career.
The expo also gives delegations the opportunity to learn from one another.
"They're able to come here and see how they match up against other countries. It's a benchmarking system as well as an individual assessment of the competitors who are representing their nation," said Shawna Bourke, director of Marketing and Communications of the WorldSkills International.
This biannual event is seen as an opportunity to try and address shared problems like water pollution.
"Urban water sewage treatment and industrial water reuse are the fundamental ways to solve this problem. So water technology is very important today," said Wang Zhan, water technology expert of Team China.
Several days of tough competition culminates in a medal ceremony. And the hope is that these competitors will inspire a new generation of skilled workers to come out of the woodwork.
Shanghai is scheduled to play host to the competition's 48th edition in September 2026.
Race for medals heats up on last day of 47th WorldSkills Competition
