China, Madagascar elevate ties to comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership

Chinese President Xi Jinping and President of Madagascar Andry Nirina Rajoelina announced the elevation of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership on Friday during their meeting in Beijing.

Rajoelina is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which has run from Wednesday to Friday. Although China and Madagascar are far away from each other, the people of the two countries have enjoyed great mutual understanding and close bonds, Xi said.

The Chinese president said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 52 years ago, the two sides have been committed to sincere friendship, equality and mutual benefit. Especially in recent years, the two countries, upholding the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, have continued to strengthen political mutual trust and deepen cooperation in various fields, giving a growing sense of gain to the people of the two countries.

China supports Madagascar in independently exploring a modernization path suited to its national conditions, and is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Madagascar, expand practical cooperation, continue to implement technical assistance projects for hybrid rice, and explore ways to strengthen cooperation in areas such as mining, new energy, blue economy, and disaster prevention and reduction, Xi said.

China supports the development of Luban Workshops and Confucius Institutes in Madagascar, which will help the country cultivate more modern and high-quality professionals, Xi said, adding that the two sides should strengthen exchanges in youth development, culture diversity and at local levels to consolidate the popular foundation of friendship between the two countries. Pointing out that Madagascar, as one of the first initiators of FOCAC, has made positive contributions to the development of the forum, Xi said China is willing to actively implement the outcomes of this year's summit with Madagascar, so as to inject new impetus into the sustained and in-depth development of China-Madagascar and China-Africa relations. Rajoelina congratulated China for successfully hosting the summit, which brought representatives from more than 50 African countries to Beijing to discuss the path of development and the future of their relations.

The 10 partnership action plans proposed by President Xi will undoubtedly change the face of Africa and usher in a new era of development for the continent, Rajoelina said.

With China's help, Madagascar has upgraded its hybrid rice technology and ensured its food security, said the president.

Madagascar is firmly committed to becoming China's cooperative partner, actively participating in Belt and Road cooperation, and implementing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, Rajoelina said, adding that his country hopes to learn from China's successful experience, and by deepening cooperation with China, realize national development and revitalization, as well as the people's dreams of agricultural modernization and industrialization, while making Madagascar-China relations a model of Africa-China relations.

The two sides signed a number of bilateral cooperation documents on Madagascar's aquatic products export to China and infrastructure construction programs.

China, Madagascar elevate ties to comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership

China, Madagascar elevate ties to comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership

China, Madagascar elevate ties to comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership

The ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) has attracted scores of new participants this year, with repeat participants also making their mark at the fair.

Themed "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," the trade fair, opened in China's capital city Beijing on Thursday and runs till Monday.

The CIFTIS is becoming more and more international, with a total of 36 Belt and Road partners showcasing their products.

Tharaka Dissanayake who works at the Sri Lankan Embassy in China has participated in the fair many times. He came to promote tea culture this time and believes that tea culture can better strengthen cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.

"For any commodity, it's a huge market. Obviously, this is one of the greatest platforms close to the Chinese consumer, to introduce ourselves, introduce our products, whatever the services or innovation," said Abeysekara, third secretary of the Sri Lankan Embassy in China.

An old friend of the fair was playing an African drum and the rhythmic sound attracted a large crowd.

"I'm here again. Many people took my WeChat and my contact, my number. So they called me, they ordered and they need more," said a Ghanaian exhibitor.

Dewi Avilia, Counselor for Social and Cultural Affairs at the Indonesian Embassy in China, is also attending the exhibition for the second time. She emphasized the need to promote cultural tourism as recent policies have made it easy for more Indonesian friends to travel to China.

"Chengdu and Chongqing have become two of the most popular tourist destinations for Indonesia. A lot of people now are not only talking about Shanghai, but are also talking about Chengdu, visiting the pandas and also Chongqing, because of the landscape. I think it is a good start," said Avilia.

This year's fair has also attracted huge number of new participants showcasing quality products.

"This is my first time. It's a great opportunity that we are able to showcase our products and to let people know about Uganda and Ugandan culture," said Mukisa Joseph, a Ugandan exhibitor.

"The expectations about this fair is to meet many people in the coffee industry. So far we have had a lot of consumers who are interested in roasted coffee. I'm still expecting more," said Mutijima Emma, a Rwandan exhibitor.

An Uzbek exhibitor, who is also a newcomer, initially intended to use this platform to promote his goods, but unexpectedly met partners from many other countries and found potential business opportunities here.

"This is a good platform to see the different global products and see the Chinese market all together. I met so many different people, but I also met many foreign people who are interested in our products. So I call these kind of events more like a globalization event," said Asilbek Khonkhujaev, an Uzbek exhibitor.

The fair has attracted attendees from 85 countries and international organizations, with over 450 Fortune 500 enterprises and companies taking the lead in their respective industries.

Newcomers, old friends gather at CIFTIS to seek new opportunities