Cai Qi, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on Thursday met with Gambian President Adama Barrow, who is in Beijing to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
At the meeting, Cai, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, recalled that President Xi Jinping delivered an important keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the summit, announcing that the overall definition of China-Africa relations will be upgraded to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, and proposed 10 partnership action plans for China and Africa to jointly promote modernization. China is willing to work with the Gambia to implement the new measures of the summit and push China-Gambia relations to a new level, he said.
Barrow said that President Xi's speech was of vital importance, sending a strong signal for promoting China-Africa relations and filling Africa with confidence. The Gambian side will firmly support the one-China principle, work with China to implement the outcomes of this summit and promote further development of the Gambia-China relations.
The three-day FOCAC summit, which opened on Wednesday, is the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.
Themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," the event aims to strengthen friendship and outline future cooperation between the two sides.
Senior CPC official meets Gambian president
Authorities in east China's coastal provinces Zhejiang and Jiangsu have launched emergency evacuation of residents to help mitigate the impact of Typhoon Bebinca -- the 13th typhoon of the year.
In Zhejiang's Pinghu City, communities have started the relocation work. The old town area of Xindai, home to about 1,400 permanent residents, including some 30 percent elderly, has been a focus of evacuation efforts.
Over 50 elderly residents have been evacuated to a temporary courtyard shelter, where they have plenty of space for meals and walking around. The shelter is equipped with folding beds, food, drinking water and medical staff standing by to address any health concerns.
The province also raised its emergency response for typhoon prevention to level II.
In Jiangsu Province, Nantong City has conducted comprehensive safety inspections and organized evacuations in key areas.
Nantong's Rugao Port on the Yangtze River was shutdown on Sunday afternoon.
All workers at the Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang-Rugao Bridge construction site -- located at a river shoal -- are evacuated ahead of the storm attack.
"From the temporary ferry to the Rugao-Zhangjiagang ferry, we have evacuated a total of 428 people. So far, all construction personnel of the Zhangjinggao Bridge within the scope of this construction site have been evacuated to our shelter," said Ding Xiaoxing, chief engineer of Rugao Water Affairs Department.
Authorities in Nantong has evacuated more than 1,400 people and over 200 vessels along the coastal area under its jurisdiction.
Making landfall in Shanghai on Monday morning, Typhoon Bebinca is the most powerful tropical cyclone directly hitting the Chinese financial hub in more than seven decades.
Zhejiang, Jiangsu evacuate residents as Typhoon Bebinca lands in east China
