ෂී - ගුටරෙස් හමුවක්

China to work with UN for Africa's peace, development: Xi

China stands ready to work together with the United Nations (U.N.) to contribute to the peace, security, development and rejuvenation in Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday when meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Beijing.

Guterres is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which runs from Wednesday to Friday.

Noting that China attaches great importance to developing relations with Africa, Xi told Guterres that he visited Africa in his first foreign trip after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, announced the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith for China's Africa policy in Tanzania, and attended all subsequent FOCAC summits.

He stressed that China's cooperation with Africa serves no selfish interests, adding that China responded to the expectations of its African brothers by helping with the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway despite its own economic difficulties half a century ago, writing stories of profound friendship between China and Africa.

Xi said that he announced new actions and measures to advance pragmatic cooperation with Africa at the opening ceremony of the FOCAC summit which was held on Thursday, and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the revitalization project of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway together with the heads of state of the two countries on Wednesday, with the aim of carrying forward China-Africa friendship.

Xi recalled that he had proposed the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind with the hope that people across the world, including those in Africa, can enjoy a better life, which accords with the common wishes and aspirations of the people of countries as the world is facing drastic changes unseen in a century.

China appreciates the U.N.'s consistent focus on Africa, and is willing to enhance cooperation with the U.N. to jointly contribute to achieving peace, stability, development and rejuvenation in Africa, Xi said.

He briefed Guterres on the outcome of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in July and his views on the global landscape, saying that in spite of all the uncertainties and even raging torrents that lie ahead, the overall direction of human development and progress will not change.

Mentioning the vision of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative that he had proposed respectively in 2021, 2022 and 2023, Xi expressed the hope that all countries could join hands to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and bring about a bright future of peace, security, prosperity and progress for the world.

Chinese modernization will create more opportunities for countries around the world and provide fresh momentum for maintaining global peace and promoting shared development, Xi said.

Practicing true multilateralism and supporting the United Nations in playing a core role in international affairs have always been among the principles of China's diplomacy, which will not change, he said.

Against the backdrop of an international landscape fraught with instability and changes, the U.N. is playing a growing role and should act more actively, Xi stressed.

China will continue to actively participate in the work of the U.N. in various fields, support the U.N. in holding the Summit of the Future, promote reform of the international financial architecture, and strengthen the governance of artificial intelligence (AI), so as to make greater contributions to the cause of world peace and development, he said.

For his part, Guterres thanked China for inviting him to attend the FOCAC summit.

Noting that Africa was the main victim of colonialism in history, he said that China's cooperation with Africa will reduce the historical injustices done to Africa, and help the continent achieve peace and development.

China's peaceful development is humanity's noble cause of peace and development, and is conducive to peace and progress for all humanity, said the U.N. chief.

The U.N. is willing to strengthen coordination with China to resist acts that create divisions and jeopardize common progress, jointly practice multilateralism, make global governance more just and equitable, so as to build a community of shared future for mankind, Guterres said.

The United Nations is making every effort to prepare for the Summit of the Future and hopes to enhance communications with China to promote reform of the international financial architecture and strengthen global AI governance, he said.

• Tags:
• feature