A stronger and more developed Africa will surely make greater contribution to world peace and development, said Foreign Ministry's spokesman Guo Jiakun at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.
Guo made the remarks in response to a media query about Foreign Minister Wang Yi's first overseas trip of the new year with a week-long visit to Africa, which will lead him to Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Chad and Nigeria from Jan 5 to 11.
"China is the world's largest developing country and Africa is the continent home to the largest number of developing countries. China and Africa share time-honored friendship. Under the personal guidance of President Xi Jinping, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was successfully held in 2024 and China-Africa relations entered the new phase of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era. The fine tradition for Chinese foreign ministers to start their year-round overseas visits with a trip to Africa speaks to the growing profound friendship between China and Africa and the continuity of China's friendly cooperation with Africa. China always believes that Africa is never 'the lost continent,' but the land of hope and source of dynamism," said Guo.
Africa betters global governance with the power of transformation. Under the guidance of Pan-Africanism, African countries have accelerated the integration process of seeking strength through unity and pursuing development and revitalization, playing an increasingly important role in international affairs. Africa powers global economic growth. The African Development Bank predicted that Africa's average growth would rise to 3.7 percent in 2024, exceeding the projected global average. Among the 20 fastest growing economies in the world, 10 are African countries. Africa is one of the birthplaces of the civilization of mankind, and also a land full of vigor and hope, with 70 percent of its population under the age of 30, the youngest in the world, said Guo.
"Amid the transformation in the world unseen in a century, the booming development of the Global South, such as China and Africa, has a profound impact on world historical progress. A stronger and more developed Africa will surely make greater contribution to world peace and development," said Guo.
Stronger, more developed Africa surely contributes more to world: FM spokesman
