ABUJA, Nigeria (CU)_Following invitations from the Foreign Ministers of Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Botswana, Tanzania and the Republic of Seychelles, the State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will commence his visits to the five countries on Monday (Jan 4).
Demonstrating the significance China attached to its relationship with Africa, this will be the Chinese Foreign Minister’s first overseas visit this year, which a continuation of a fine tradition followed since 1991.
Throughout the past year, China and Africa maintained strong bilateral cooperation in their battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, which was highlighted during the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 held in June 2020. Under these efforts, China not only provided Africa with medical supplies but also provided assistance in developing the Africa CDC headquarters, and Beijing also sent medical teams to various hospitals in the African continent which worked in collaboration on COVID-19 vaccines.
Moreover, China has signed debt service suspension agreements with 12 African nations and has also provided waivers of matured interest-free loan for 15 African countries, which has played a significant role in the post-pandemic economic recovery in these countries.
Last year, China and Africa celebrated the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and 2021 is the final year for the implementation of the outcomes of FOCAC Beijing Summit which was held in 2018.
Accordingly, Minister Wang Yi’s upcoming visit is considered to be one of Beijing’s efforts to pursue shared interests between the two partners and advance BRI cooperation with African countries.
In 2021, Beijing and Africa will hold the FOCAC meetings in Senegal, and this year, China is expected to initiate joint efforts with Africa in three priority areas, namely, vaccine cooperation, economic recovery and transformative development to build new consensus on solidarity.
