(Translation)

Mr. Chairman,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

This is the second time that the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is holding a ministerial conference in Africa since its inception. As the co-chair of the conference, I wish to extend a warm welcome to the representatives of African countries, guests from international and regional organizations and friends from various sectors present today. Our host, Egypt, has done a great deal of work in preparing for the conference. Let me express, on behalf of the Chinese government, sincere thanks to the government of Egypt.

The theme of this conference, “deepening the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership for sustainable development”, embodies the common strategic needs of China and Africa. At a time when the global financial crisis continues to affect developing countries and global development imbalances become more pronounced, it is highly significant for China and Africa to come together to take stock of the follow-up activities of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and make plans for our cooperation in the next three years. Our meeting today will go a long way in deepening China-Africa relations.

The Beijing Summit held three years ago was a milestone in the history of China-Africa relations. We decided at the summit to establish a new type of strategic partnership featuring political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchanges. Since then, we have, through joint efforts, made steady progress in the implementation of the follow-up activities of the summit. I want to mention, in particular, that the full implementation of the eight measures for practical cooperation with Africa announced by President Hu Jintao at the summit has given a strong boost to our new strategic partnership. China and Africa now enjoy deeper political mutual trust, more productive business cooperation, closer personnel exchanges at all levels and stronger public support for our friendship. Our relations are full of vigor and vitality under the new circumstances, promising an even brighter future. The fast growing relationship between China and Africa has not only brought real benefits to the people of the two sides but also contributed greatly to peace, development and cooperation in the world.

I now wish to present to the conference the following report on the implementation of the outcomes of the Beijing Summit.

First, China-Africa political exchanges and cooperation have become closer.

China and Africa have had frequent exchanges of high-level visits, which have served to enhance our political mutual trust. Chinese President Hu Jintao, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Jia Qinglin and other principal Chinese leaders paid many visits to Africa. Thirty-six presidents, vice presidents, prime ministers and speakers of parliament from Africa visited China. Leaders of the two sides also held bilateral meetings at the United Nations and other multilateral fora.

We have had close diplomatic consultations and dialogue. China has established mechanisms of foreign ministries’ political consultations or strategic dialogue with 28 African countries. The first round of political consultations between the Chinese and African foreign ministers was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, marking the official launch of the regular dialogue mechanism at the foreign minister’s level. The Chinese foreign minister visited 16 African countries, and foreign ministers of 15 African countries visited China.

China and Africa have supported and coordinated with each other in international affairs to jointly uphold the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries. China has, as always, spoken up for the interests and development of Africa in the international arena, and supported African countries in playing a greater role in the United Nations and other important international organizations.

African countries have been committed to the one China policy and have supported China’s position on issues related to Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang. Governments and people of African countries gave active support in various ways to China in earthquake relief and in hosting the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the Shanghai World Expo. We highly appreciate Africa’s support and we thank you for what you have done.

China has given support to Africa’s integration process. China held two rounds of strategic dialogue with the AU Commission and started the construction of the AU conference center. China’s exchanges and cooperation with African sub-regional organizations are growing stronger. The training programs for some African countries, as part of China’s assistance to NEPAD, have gone smoothly.

China has committed itself to maintaining peace and stability in Africa. The Chinese government has appointed a special representative for African affairs, who is actively involved in the mediation and settlement of hotspot issues in Africa. Since the Beijing Summit, China has sent a total of 6,281 peacekeeping personnel and policemen to Africa, including 1,629 who are serving in six UN peacekeeping missions. Since the beginning of 2009, China has dispatched four naval fleets to the waters off the Somali coast and the Gulf of Aden for escorting missions.

Second, practical cooperation in economy and trade between China and Africa has been fruitful.

The Chinese government has taken active measures to honor its commitments made at the Beijing Summit and China-Africa economic cooperation and trade has enjoyed steady growth. China has substantially increased assistance to Africa, delivered on its debt cancellation commitment to the heavily indebted poor countries and least developed countries in Africa on schedule, provided concessional loans and preferential export buyer’s credit for infrastructure and other projects in Africa, opened its market further to products from the least developed countries in Africa, and implemented plans of building agricultural technology demonstration centers and sending senior agricultural experts to Africa. These efforts have enhanced Africa’s capacity for independent economic development and boosted business ties between China and Africa. In 2008, our two-way trade exceeded US$100 billion.

As China-Africa business ties continue to expand, our cooperation in investment and finance has maintained momentum of growth. China agreed to participate in the plan to increase the resources of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, and hosted the 2007 African Development Bank Group annual council meeting and the 2009 annual board meeting of the West African Development Bank. China-Africa cooperation in investment and finance keeps expanding, injecting fresh vitality into our practical cooperation. My colleague Commerce Minister Chen Deming will give you more details later on the progress of China-Africa economic cooperation and trade.

Third, China-Africa cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in social development have enjoyed robust growth.

There have been more frequent cultural exchanges between China and Africa. China has signed cultural cooperation agreements with all the African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. Since 2007, 21 art troupes from African countries have performed in China. “African Culture in Focus 2008” and “Chinese Culture in Focus 2009” were successfully held in China and African countries respectively.

China-Africa cooperation in education and human resources development has been expanding. China increased government scholarships for Africa. The number of recipients reached 4,000 in 2009, doubling the number of 2006. The smooth implementation of the China-Africa personnel training programs and projects for China to build rural schools in Africa has contributed to the improvement of education in African countries. A total of 23 Confucius Institutes or classrooms have been opened through cooperation between China and 16 African countries. This is yet another chapter in the annals of China-Africa cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

China has supported Africa’s efforts to improve people’s well-being. Since the Beijing Summit, China has sent about 1,200 medical personnel to 42 African countries and provided medical equipments worth RMB50 million. It is worth noting that efforts such as setting up hospitals and anti-malaria centers in Africa, providing anti-malaria medicine and sending malaria prevention and treatment experts have yielded good results and brought direct benefits to more and more ordinary Africans.

There have been frequent exchanges between the young people and women of the two sides, and between the sister provinces and twin cities. The All-China Women’s Federation has established China-Africa training and exchange centers for women in five African countries, provided assistance to women organizations of 14 African countries and co-sponsored with Egypt the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation — Women’s Forum 2009. The Third China-Africa Youth Festival was a success and 500 African young people visited China. Volunteer services provided by young Chinese have been well received by African countries. There are now 98 pairs of sister provinces or twin cities between China and Africa, 24 of which were recently formed.

Exchanges between media organizations of the two sides have been on the increase. Many groups of press officials and media professionals visited China, while Chinese radio and television programs landed in more African countries.

Fourth, FOCAC has strengthened its institutional building.

Since its inception in 2000, FOCAC has established follow-up mechanisms and procedures, including regular Ministerial Meetings, Senior Officials Meetings and consultations between the Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee and African diplomatic corps, and set up the China-Africa regular political dialogue mechanism at the foreign minister’s level. China-Africa Education Forum and Women’s Forum have added more substance to the FOCAC framework.

The Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee and relevant departments have kept in close contact with African embassies in China. So have Chinese embassies in Africa with relevant government departments of African countries. They have done a great deal to build and develop FOCAC and promote China-Africa cooperation. I want to acknowledge in particular Egypt, who as the current chair of FOCAC, has been an active coordinator between China and African countries and made positive contribution to the development of FOCAC and the smooth implementation of its follow-up actions.

Mr. Chairman,

I cannot cover each and everything that China and Africa have done in the past three years due to time constraints. I can say, however, that as shown by facts, the outcomes of the Beijing Summit have been translated into reality thanks to our joint efforts.

Yes, we have made remarkable achievements in China-Africa cooperation. But we cannot be complacent. Prominent global issues, in particular the international financial crisis, climate change, food security and public health security, have brought developing countries more daunting challenges. As a Chinese saying goes, if two people unite as one, their strength is powerful enough to cut through metal. We will continue to enhance solidarity and cooperation, work together to overcome difficulties and strive for fresh achievements in China-Africa cooperation.

At the opening ceremony this morning, Premier Wen Jiabao announced, on behalf of the Chinese government, eight new measures to enhance China-Africa practical cooperation in the next three years, covering such priority areas as responding to the financial crisis and climate change, science and technology, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, medical care, culture and people-to-people exchanges. These measures meet the major concerns and needs of African countries and demonstrate the desire of China and Africa to jointly address major global challenges. They will help Africa achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals and facilitate common development of China and Africa.

Mr. Chairman,

Before concluding my report, I have the honor to brief you, as entrusted by the conference, on the two draft documents that the conference is scheduled to adopt.

The first document is the draft Declaration of Sharm El Sheikh of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. As the political document of the conference, it sets forth the guiding principles of China-Africa cooperation, reflects the views and consensus of both sides on major international and regional issues and China-Africa relations and expresses the hope to strengthen China-Africa cooperation under the new circumstances.

The second document is the draft Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Sharm El Sheikh Action Plan (2010-2012). Under the guidance of the above Declaration, this document puts forward the guidelines, main objectives and specific measures for China-Africa cooperation in priority areas in the next three years. It has seven parts:

The first part is the Preamble, which briefly reviews the conference and its background.

The second part is Political Affairs and Regional Peace and Security. It contains the consensus and suggestions on maintaining high-level exchanges and promoting regional peace and security and states China’s position on strengthening cooperation with regional and sub-regional organizations in Africa.

The third part is Cooperation in International Affairs. It mainly explains the views and positions of both sides on the current international situation and major issues, and stresses that our two sides will strengthen coordination and cooperation on issues like the international financial crisis, climate change, reform of the international system, the Millennium Development Goals and the Doha round negotiations.

The fourth part is Economic Cooperation. The key areas include agriculture and food security, investment, infrastructure, trade, finance, energy and resources, information and communications, services, and transportation. The Chinese side has made specific new commitments on setting up agricultural technology demonstration centers, opening market, providing preferential loans and establishing a special loan for African small and medium-sized enterprises. The main objective is to help African countries enhance capacity for sustainable development.

The fifth part is Cooperation in the Field of Development. It includes assistance and debt relief, human resources development, education, science and technology, poverty reduction, health care, climate change and environmental protection, disaster reduction and relief, etc. China has decided to give African countries assistance in clean-energy projects, increase Chinese government scholarships, provide assistance to more schools, train more people for Africa, further cancel or reduce debts owed by African countries, launch the China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership Plan, and provide medical equipments and material assistance to Africa. These measures are meant to help tackle the serious challenge of climate change and at the same time improve people’s livelihood in Africa.

The sixth part is Cultural and People-to-people Exchanges and Cooperation, focusing on exchanges in culture and sports, between the academic communities and media organizations and among the people. The Chinese side has proposed the launching of a China-Africa joint research and exchange plan with the purpose of strengthening academic exchanges and cooperation. We believe it will help enhance mutual understanding and increase public support for China-Africa friendship.

The seventh part is FOCAC Institutional Building. It emphasizes the point that we will encourage relevant departments of the two sides to hold sub-fora within the FOCAC framework in order to boost cooperation between functional departments of the two sides. The document finally announces that the Fifth Ministerial Conference will be held in China in three years.

The drafters of the two documents have fully solicited the views of various sides. What we have now are two joint drafts produced after many rounds of consultations between the two sides, and they have been adopted by senior officials. The documents reflect our collective wisdom and common vision in developing China-Africa relations. In my capacity as co-chair of the conference, I hereby submit to the conference for review the draft Declaration of Sharm El Sheikh of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the draft Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Sharm El Sheikh Action Plan (2010-2012).

Mr. Chairman,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nine momentous years have passed since FOCAC was founded in 2000. These past nine years have witnessed tremendous achievements in China-Africa relations. FOCAC progress during this period fully shows that China-Africa relationship is one of treating each other as equals, supporting each other, working for mutual benefit and achieving common development. I am convinced that this conference will be another highlight in China-Africa relations and in the history of FOCAC. Let’s join hands to implement the fruitful outcome of this conference, push the new type of China-Africa Strategic Partnership to a higher level, bring benefits to the Chinese and African people and work tirelessly for a more harmonious and better world.

Thank you.