African journalists covering the just-concluded 2024 Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing have spoken highly of the fruitful cooperation between China and Africa over the years, expressing hopes of even brighter prospects.
Themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," the three-day FOCAC summit aimed to strengthen friendship and outline future cooperation between the two sides. The summit, which took place from Wednesday to Friday, was the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.
Journalists shared their insights on some landmark China-Africa projects, which they say have transformed their respective countries.
"China has contributed greatly to infrastructure development in Nigeria, with the partnership we have been having with them. They have constructed some roads and even railways in Nigeria. We've been depending on oil and gas over the years. The current administration has been trying to diversify, particularly to agriculture, getting more technologies, more advanced technologies, new ways of doing it to really tap into the potentials of this sector," said Musbau Dan-wahab, a journalist from Nigeria.
Blanche Goreses, a journalist form Namibia said her country has risen to become a top uranium and lithium producer after working with China in recent years.
"I will say the most recent major undertaking from China in Namibia has been the acquisition of the uranium mine. That's now one of the largest in the country. It has propelled Namibia to be one of the top three producing countries when it comes to uranium. Recently Namibia added its name to those African countries with lithium and added its name to those African countries now pushing for clean energy transition. Hence, we are busy with few green hydrogen projects that will produce energy using renewable resources," said Goreses.
The cooperation between China and Cameroon has not only benefited the public, but also brought huge potential in areas such as agriculture and industrialization, according to journalists from Cameroon.
"Many projects have been carried out by China. The most recent one was just two weeks ago. We inaugurated a drinking water supply project for the capital Yaounde. We brought 300,000 cubic meters of additional water to the capital. This is called the PAEPYS project, which was financed and entirely carried out by the Chinese. Also, currently, there is the construction of a new headquarters for the National Assembly, which is being finalized. It should be inaugurated before the end of this year. Before that, we have two large gyneco-obstetric-pediatric hospitals, one in Douala, the other in Yaounde," said Joseph Clement Omgba, a journalist from Cameroon.
"We have a common future when it comes to development of road infrastructure. I believe that there is a possibility with China to even do more in the field of agriculture and industrialization," said Yvette Helene Bikele, another journalist from Cameroon.
Int'l journalists laud landmark China-Africa projects with mutual benefits
Int'l journalists laud landmark China-Africa projects with mutual benefits
