Good evening. It is a great pleasure for me to attend this reception to celebrate together with you the 20th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Twenty years ago, shortly after the adoption of the UN Millennium Declaration, Chinese and African leaders gathered in Beijing for the first FOCAC conference, opening a new page in China-Africa relations. After 20 years of development, the Forum, in line with the general trend of peace, development and cooperation, has become a banner of cooperation with Africa and a fine example of multilateralism and win-win cooperation. .

In 20 years, the FCSA has greatly consolidated Sino-African solidarity and friendship. In the big Sino-African family, all members, despite their size and level of development, are brothers who respect each other and treat each other as equals. China and Africa have continued the deep friendship forged in the struggle for national liberation and lent each other firm support on issues affecting vital interests and major concerns of both sides. We have raised the banner of multilateralism, justice and equity. Together, we have strengthened the place and influence of developing countries in the world and safeguarded the global interests of developing countries.

Over the past 20 years, FOCAC has contributed significantly to the common development of China and Africa. In 2019, China-Africa trade stood at 208.7 billion US dollars and the stock of Chinese direct investment in Africa reached 49.1 billion US dollars, respectively 20 times and 100 times larger than it is. 20 years ago. The two parties have jointly developed the "ten cooperation programs" and the "eight major initiatives". China has helped Africa implement them, including building dozens of Sino-African economic and trade cooperation zones and industrial parks on the African continent, more than 6,000 kilometers of railways, more than 6 000 kilometers of roads, nearly 20 ports, more than 80 large-scale power generation facilities, more than 130 health establishments, 45 stadiums and more than 170 educational establishments. All these constructions are at the origin of tangible changes in economic and social development in Africa. Projects embodying the "age-old dream" of African countries such as the African Union (AU) Conference Centre, the Mombasa-Nairobi railway line and the Maputo-Catembe bridge have been accomplished one after another, translating par excellence Sino-African commitment to common development.

In 20 years, the FCSA has considerably strengthened the ties of friendship between the Chinese and African peoples. The China-Africa Think Tank Forum, the China-Africa People's Forum, the China-Africa Press Center and the China-Africa Youth Festival have been continuously developed and now play a more important bridge role between Chinese and Africans. China has provided a total of about 120,000 government scholarships to African countries and established 61 Confucius Institutes and 44 Confucius Classes in partnership with 46 African countries. It has sent 21,000 health professionals to 48 African countries who have provided care to approximately 220 million people. In 2014, when West Africa was hit by the Ebola epidemic, more than 1,000 Chinese doctors and nurses left to help the affected peoples in defiance of the dangers. When COVID-19 came suddenly, China and Africa waged a battle against the coronavirus side by side. Last June, President Xi Jinping and African leaders held an extraordinary summit against COVID-19 and sent a strong message of solidarity against the virus. The Sino-African friendship has proven to be ever more powerful and solid through all these battles we have fought and all these trials we have overcome together.

Dear friends,

China is the largest developing country, and Africa the continent with the largest number of developing countries. During the past 20 years, we have witnessed the rapid development of FOCAC, and at the same time, we have seen the Chinese people's persevering efforts to realize national rejuvenation and African commitment to a united and strong Africa. In this extraordinary historical journey, we have walked hand in hand and shown by our achievements that developing countries are fully capable of bringing a better life to their people through persevering work, and that China and the Africa could well carve out, through their own efforts, a path to recovery suited to national realities.

Dear friends,

Today's world is going through transformations not seen in a century. The readjustment of the international order has accelerated due to COVID-19. The new challenges and the new situation call for new commitments and new actions. How to take China-Africa relations to a new height to meet the demands of our time? How to ensure the Sino-African cooperation a new dynamic and a better quality? How to meet the challenges to achieve an innovative development of the FCSA? To answer all these questions, I would like to put forward a four-point proposal and discuss it with African friends:

First, we need to strengthen solidarity to build an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future. At the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2018, Chinese and African leaders unanimously decided to build an even stronger China-Africa shared future community. The new international situation has given a deeper meaning to this strategic decision which is more relevant than ever. We should uphold the principle of "sincerity, real results, friendship and candor" and that of seeking the greater good and common interests, and firmly support the efforts of both sides to uphold national sovereignty and dignity, to independently seek a development path suited to national realities and safeguard the right to legitimate development in order to jointly achieve national recovery.

Second, we must overcome hardships to build a China-Africa health community for all. China stands ready to work with Africa to fully implement the achievements of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19 and tilt their cooperation for health, recovery of activities and the improvement of the well-being of the population. I reaffirm that China will indeed honor its solemn commitment to make vaccines a global public good and that we look favorably, when vaccines are developed and deployed, to provide them to African countries in need in order to help them overcome as soon as possible. the virus.

Third, we should carry out win-win cooperation to build a China-Africa development community. China will continue to support Africa in building infrastructure, the industrialization process and building its capacity for self-development. China welcomes the construction of the African Continental Free Trade Area and will provide its secretariat with financial support and capacity-building training. We need to deepen cooperation on free trade and the integration of industrial and supply chains to help Africa better benefit from the Chinese market and better integrate into the international economic circuit. China is ready to discuss with Africa the development of a strategic cooperation framework on climate change to jointly meet this challenge.

Fourth, we must assume our responsibilities to build a community of shared future for humanity. Both China and Africa are strong supporters of multilateralism and major forces for world peace and development. We must assume our historical responsibilities and firmly uphold the central role of the United Nations in global and multilateral affairs, the basic norms governing international relations as well as multilateralism, equity and justice. We must respond together to planetary challenges and participate together in global governance to develop the international order in a more just and reasonable direction and contribute to the advent of a clean and beautiful world, lasting peace, global security. , common prosperity, openness and inclusion.

Dear friends,

The FCSA is our common good. It is important for us to bring it into line with the times and ensure its exemplary role in Sino-African relations. The next forum conference is scheduled for next year in Senegal. The Chinese side intends to work together with the African side to prepare well for this event and its results so that it contributes to synergizing China's Second Centenary Goal and the AU's Agenda 2063, to broadening consensus between the two sides, expand China-Africa cooperation into new areas, bring more benefits to the Chinese and African peoples, and lift the China-Africa partnership of comprehensive strategic cooperation to a higher level.

Dear friends,

The promising new era puts us at a new historical starting point. Whatever happens in the international situation and whatever difficulties are ahead of us, we will never stop our forward march in China-Africa cooperation and building the FOCAC. We must have the determination to meet all kinds of challenges to achieve quality cooperation and create an ever brighter future for China-Africa relations.

To end, I propose a toast

To the eternal friendship between the Chinese and African peoples,

To peace and development in the world, and

To the health and happiness of all of you, my dear brothers and sisters.

And I thank you.