Fei Zhou

On 9 December 2014, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming stated, when addressing the opening ceremony of the 10th Senior Officials' Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in South Africa, that FOCAC has traversed an extraordinary path since its inception in 2000. With the expansion of the FOCAC family and improvement of its mechanisms, the forum has guided and driven the fast development of China-Africa relations across the board.

When talking about the achievements of China-Africa cooperation, Zhang Ming said that the trade volume between China and Africa has grown rapidly, reaching US$210 billion in 2013, 21 times that of 2000. For every US$100 worth of goods exported by Africa in 2013, nearly US$20 of them were bought by China, in comparison with the mere US$3 in 2000. Investment and financing cooperation between China and Africa has moved forward fast. China's total direct investment in Africa is nearly US$30 billion and Chinese commercial loans to Africa have exceeded US$50 billion, with cooperation projects all over the African continent. Personnel exchanges between the two sides have become increasingly close. In 2013, 1.895 million visits were made by Chinese nationals with Africa as their first stop and 553,000 visits were made by African people to China.

Zhang Ming stressed that it is under the guidance of FOCAC that China-Africa solidarity and cooperation, which started in the 1950s, have gained greater relevance and strength in the new century. China and Africa have gained tremendous benefits from their cooperation, and more importantly, built a strong bond of brotherhood. FOCAC will celebrate its 15th anniversary next year, and China is ready to work with the African side to ensure the success of the sixth FOCAC Ministerial Meeting and elevate the new type of China-Africa strategic partnership to a higher level.

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