"ලෝකය වෙනස් වුනත් චීන - අප්‍රිකා සබඳතා ඉදිරියටත් ශක්තිමත් වෙනවා"

China-Africa friendship will stand test of time despite global uncertainties: Xi

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a grand banquet on Wednesday evening to welcome international guests who are in Beijing to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Attending the banquet at the Great Hall of the People were 51 African heads of state, heads of government and their spouses, two presidential representatives, the Chairman of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Xi and Peng greeted the guests upon their arrival and posed with them for a group photo, before accompanying them on the walk to the banquet hall, where they enjoyed a series of singing and African percussion performances by children on their way towards the main hall.

In his address at the banquet, Xi extended a warm welcome to the distinguished guests on behalf of the Chinese government and the people, and noted that he has visited Africa 10 times.

Xi said the China-Africa community with a shared future sets a stellar example for building a community with a shared future for humanity.

The China-Africa community with a shared future is deeply rooted in the traditional friendship between the two sides, Xi said, adding that the friendship remains robust and is growing stronger through generations no matter how the world changes.

Xi said that building a community with a shared future is the common dream of mankind, and modernization is the way to connect this dream with reality.

"I believe that as long as the more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people work together in the same direction with on heart, we are bound to create new and greater feats on the path to modernization, spearhead the modernization drive of the Global South, and make greater contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," Xi said.

In a speech at the banquet, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal, the African co-chair of the FOCAC, expressed his gratitude to the friendly Chinese people for their warm reception and thoughtful arrangements on behalf of the African leaders attending the event.

Faye said that the Africa-China friendship has a strong foundation and a long history, and both sides share similar concepts and uphold equality, mutual respect, mutual benefit, solidarity and cooperation, and advocate for building a more equal, orderly and inclusive world that benefits all.

Under the leadership of President Xi, China has not only achieved its own rapid development, but has also made important contributions to promoting world peace and global growth, he said.

The African side highly appreciates the global initiatives put forward by President Xi and his important contributions to promoting China-Africa cooperation, including the building of the FOCAC mechanism, and is willing to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with China, deepen the Africa-China comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and better safeguard common interests, said Faye.

After the banquet, Xi, Peng and the guests enjoyed a special performance entitled "Joining Hands to Build the Future Together", which captured the theme of this year's summit.

Scheduled to take place from Wednesday to Friday, the FOCAC summit is the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.

Themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," the three-day event aims to strengthen friendships and outline future cooperation between the two sides.

Xi is set to deliver a keynote speech at Thursday's opening ceremony.

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