The summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, taking place in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday, provides another opportunity for the two sides to strengthen strategic communication and deepen practical cooperation.

The reason FOCAC has become so popular among African nations since its establishment in 2000 is that it is not a place for conversation. The results and cooperation projects that have resulted from it have brought enormous benefits to African countries and African people.

Over the past 24 years, China-Africa trade volume has increased from $10.5 billion in 2000 to $282.1 billion in 2023. China’s investment in Africa has increased from less than $500 million in 2000 to more than $40 billion today. Nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 1,000 bridges and nearly 100 ports that have been jointly built are tangible evidence of the cooperation between the two sides.

Promoting China-Africa cooperation is not Beijing’s stopgap strategy for short-term gains, but a long-term commitment to friendly relations with the continent. It focuses on helping African countries develop the domestic driving forces for their development and encourages them to firmly grasp the development initiative in their own hands. By sharing China’s development experience, technology and development capabilities with African countries, it respects their choice of development paths. And in doing so, China has helped them become more closely integrated with the world economy.

Africa is the continent with the highest concentration of developing countries and the region with the greatest development potential in the world. Its role in global industrial and supply chains will become increasingly important.

The next 10 years will be a transformative decade for the world economy as it transitions from old to new growth drivers and experiences profound transformations in the global governance system.

Western countries often see China’s engagement with Africa as a form of economic and strategic competition, especially in terms of access to resources and influence. However, by engaging with each other sincerely, sympathetically and in good faith, China and Africa can make clear that they are willing to be pioneers and exemplary practitioners of the three global initiatives that President Xi Jinping has proposed to address the four deficits facing humanity – namely, the growing governance deficit, trust deficit, development deficit and peace deficit – and establish their relationship as the cornerstone of a community with a shared future for humanity.

To this end, they should stand shoulder to shoulder as defenders of multilateralism and make greater efforts to promote the realization of a more just international order and a more effective global governance system. The two sides should work together to jointly defend multilateralism and the free trade system, resolutely oppose protectionism, unilateralism, intimidation and the harmful and erroneous theory of the clash of civilizations, and promote the democratization of international relations.

As promised by President Xi, China will reliably fulfill its commitments to Africa, unswervingly support Africa’s development, and make greater contributions to the continent’s vitality.

As part of this effort, China encourages the international community to increase investment in Africa and work with the United Nations and international partners to realize trilateral cooperation in Africa.

The Chinese leader held talks with more than a dozen African countries in Beijing on Wednesday ahead of the summit on Thursday, emphasizing that China is deepening its commitment to Africa at all levels.

As Xi wrote in a signed article on China-Africa relations, 10 years have passed since he outlined “sincerity, genuine results, friendship and good faith” as the principles China should follow to develop its relations with Africa. The past decade has seen the forging of a strong and productive relationship that is now ready, willing and able to provide new impetus to global development and greater world stability.