President of the Republic of Madagascar Andry Nirina Rajoelina spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's extraordinary vision as demonstrated by the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, looking forward to jointly building a new pattern for security and development.
Rajoelina made the remarks in an interview with the China Central Television (CCTV) in Beijing after attending the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September.
He said that FOCAC has been instrumental in boosting Africa's development and revitalization.
"I deeply admire President Xi Jinping's leadership and extraordinary vision. He expressed his hope for the common development of Africa and China, which is crucial for both sides. We must recognize our enormous potential and expect to collaborate with friendly nations to jointly transform Africa. This is why the FOCAC summit is so vital. It outlines specific pathways and methods for us to work hand in hand with China to promote Africa's development," he said.
In addition, Rajoelina stressed that President Xi's initiatives and vision should be firmly supported by friendly countries.
"I believe that in today's era, a country cannot develop without security guarantees, let alone a truly secure global environment, and economic development and political support are also indispensable elements. Therefore, I firmly believe that President Xi Jinping's proposals and visions are in line with this core concept and should receive steadfast support from friendly countries," he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Rajoelina during his stay in Beijing. The two leaders announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
Madagascar's president speaks highly of Xi's extraordinary vision
China's new energy passenger vehicle market continued to see robust growth in September, with its penetration rate, a gauge of popularity, in the domestic market climbed to 53.3 percent, according to the data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) on Saturday.
This marks the third consecutive month that the penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicle has surpassed 50 percent.
During the first nine months of 2024, total retail sales of new energy passenger cars amounted to 7.13 million units, representing a 37.4 percent increase from the previous year, the CPCA data showed.
Experts attribute the growth to the country's trade-in policies.
Last month, China issued a new circular that increased financial incentives to encourage consumers to scrap their old vehicles and buy new ones.
According to the circular, subsidies for trade-ins of new-energy passenger vehicles have doubled from 10,000 yuan -- a figure stipulated in an April document -- to 20,000 yuan.
Afterward, several local administrations have introduced corresponding subsidy schemes.
"The automobile trade-in policy promoted by the country and the relevant measures introduced by local governments have boosted the confidence of domestic consumers, leading to noticeable increase of retail sales. New energy vehicles have exceeded expectations, further solidifying their global leadership position. The new quality productive forces in auto industry are rapidly shifting from quantitative to qualitative changes," said Chen Shihua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
During the January-September period, China's auto production reached approximately 21.47 million units, up 1.9 percent year on year, according to the data released by the CAAM on Saturday.
Auto sales totaled 21.57 million units, marking a 2.4 percent increase from the same period of last year. Notably, both production and sales of new energy vehicles surpassed 8.3 million units, with year-on-year growth exceeding 30 percent in both categories, the data showed.
China's new energy passenger vehicle sales surge in September
