Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi kicked off the new year with a visit to Tanzania's capital Dar es Salaam on Friday, calling for a next-level friendship between China and Africa. 🤝🌍
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, praised a long-standing and enduring bond between the two sides. He pointed to President Xi Jinping's 2013 trip—when the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith were set—as a key milestone in China-Africa relations.
This year marks 36 straight years that China's foreign ministers have chosen Africa as their first overseas stop. Wang said China will keep up this tradition to show its commitment to South-South cooperation, which he sees buzzing with potential.
At a joint press briefing with Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, Wang laid out three pillars to deepen ties:
1. Upholding justice: He recalled how China and Africa once stood shoulder to shoulder against imperialism and colonialism. Today, they back each other on core interests, protect the Global South's rights and serve as a stabilizing force in a turbulent world.
2. Pursuing progress: Building on President Xi's vision, Wang proposed a new modernization roadmap—complete with six defining features—to forge an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future.
3. Championing win-win cooperation: Wang offered to align development strategies with African partners, fast-track outcomes from the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and deepen collaboration in agriculture, mining and manufacturing.
He also highlighted the Tanzania-Zambia Railway revitalization project, which broke ground two months ago. China is ready to help revive the route, turn it into a development engine and strengthen its strategic partnership with Tanzania. 🚆✨
Reference(s):
Chinese FM puts forward proposals to further deepen China-Africa ties
cgtn.com
