Broad Pospects for the New Type of China.doc

Broad Prospects for the New Type of China-Africa Strategic Partnership Remarks by Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun at the Seventh Lanting Forum Beijing, 12 July 2012 Diplomatic envoys, Friends from the academic, business and media circles, Ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to speak at the Lanting Forum. The Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in just a week, and mid-summer Beijing will embrace an exciting “African time”. I am sure all those who care about and support China-Africa relations are eagerly looking forward to it. And I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss China-Africa relations with you in advance of the Ministerial Conference. FOCAC was launched in October 2000. Since then, thanks to the strong commitment and careful nurturing of both sides, it has become an important platform for collective dialogue and effective mechanism for practical cooperation between China and Africa, and has greatly helped advance China-Africa relations. In particular, at the 2006 Beijing Summit, China and Africa decided to establish a new type of strategic partnership featuring political equality and mutual trust, win-win economic cooperation and cultural exchanges, thus turning a new page in China-Africa friendly cooperation. The upcoming Ministerial Conference will be the first such conference in the second decade of FOCAC. It is of great significance for the continuation and further development of China-Africa relations, and has received high attention from both sides. Chinese President Hu Jintao and several African leaders will attend the opening ceremony. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Commerce Minister Chen Deming, the foreign and economic ministers of 50 African countries, and the Chairperson of the AU Commission will participate in the Conference. Under the theme of “building on past achievements and opening up new prospects for the new type of China-Africa strategic partnersh