Full text: Keynote address by Chinese President Xi Jinping at opening ceremony of 2024 FOCAC summit

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(Xinhua) 15:34, September 05, 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech titled "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a Community with a Shared Future" while attending the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2024. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday delivered a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The following is the full text of the address:

Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a Community with a Shared Future

Keynote Address by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

At the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Summit of

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

Beijing, September 5, 2024

Your Excellency President Bassirou Diomaye Faye,

Your Excellency President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, Chairperson of the African Union (AU),

Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government and Heads of Delegation,

Your Excellency Mr. Antnio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations,

Your Excellency Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission,

Friends and Distinguished Guests,

Blossoms in spring turn into fruits in autumn, and a bumper harvest is the reward of hard work. In this season of harvest, I am delighted to gather together with so many old and new friends in Beijing to discuss grand plans for China-Africa friendship and cooperation in the new era. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I extend a warm welcome to you all!

The friendship between China and Africa transcends time and space, surmounts mountains and oceans, and passes down through generations. The founding of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000 was a milestone in the history of China-Africa relations. Over the past 24 years, especially in the new era, China has advanced forward hand in hand with our African brothers and sisters in the spirit of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith. We stand shoulder to shoulder with each other to firmly defend our legitimate rights and interests as once-in-a-century changes sweep across the world. We get stronger and more resilient together by riding the tide of economic globalization, delivering tangible benefits to billions of ordinary Chinese and Africans. We share weal and woe in fighting natural disasters and epidemics together, creating touching stories of China-Africa friendship. We always empathize with and support each other, setting a stellar example of a new type of international relations.

Thanks to nearly 70 years of tireless efforts from both sides, the China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history. With its future growth in mind, I propose that bilateral relations between China and all African countries having diplomatic ties with China be elevated to the level of strategic relations, and that the overall characterization of China-Africa relations be elevated to an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.

Friends and Distinguished Guests,

Modernization is an inalienable right of all countries. But the Western approach to it has inflicted immense sufferings on developing countries. Since the end of World War II, Third World nations, represented by China and African countries, have achieved independence and development one after another, and have been endeavoring to redress the historical injustices of the modernization process. As we are about to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, we are going all out to build a great modern socialist country in all respects and pursue national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. Africa is also awakening again, and the continent is marching in solid strides toward the modernization goals set forth in the AU's Agenda 2063. China and Africa's joint pursuit of modernization will set off a wave of modernization in the Global South, and open a new chapter in our drive for a community with a shared future for mankind.

-- We should jointly advance modernization that is just and equitable. In promoting modernization, we should not only follow the general rules, but also act in light of our national realities. China is ready to increase exchanges of governance experience with Africa, support all countries in exploring modernization paths befitting their national conditions, and help ensure equal rights and equal opportunities for all countries.

-- We should jointly advance modernization that is open and win-win. Mutually beneficial cooperation is the sunny road to the betterment of long-term and fundamental interests of all countries. China is ready to deepen cooperation with Africa in industry, agriculture, infrastructure, trade and investment, promote exemplary, high-quality Belt and Road cooperation projects, and build together a model for the delivery of the Global Development Initiative.