Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday highlighted the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), vowing to further assist the African country in realizing the development potential of its abundant natural resources.
During a meeting with DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Xi emphasized the strong ties between the two nations. “Many of the consensuses we reached last May have been implemented,” Xi noted, referring to the upgrade of their partnership to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
“The two countries are partners on the road to modernization,” Xi said, hailing the fruitful cooperative results achieved since the upgrade. He assured President Tshisekedi that China will continue to support the DRC in safeguarding national sovereignty and achieving independent development. Xi expressed China’s commitment to deepening cooperation in areas including agriculture, mineral processing, vocational training, and other fields.
President Tshisekedi spoke highly of the “strong and sincere” friendship shared between the DRC and China. “Bilateral cooperation is based on equality, respect, and a high degree of mutual trust, and has achieved mutual benefit and win-win results,” he stated. Tshisekedi commended the upcoming FOCAC summit, calling it “an important opportunity” for African countries to realize their development goals.
Following the 2006 Beijing summit, the 2015 Johannesburg summit, and the 2018 Beijing summit, the upcoming 2024 summit is another significant event gathering members of the friendly family of China and Africa. It is also the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
(Cover image: Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, September 2, 2024. /Xinhua)
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Xi Jinping vows to assist DRC in realizing natural resource potential
cgtn.com
