Chinese President Xi Jinping and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have announced the elevation of China-Rwanda relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The announcement came on Thursday during President Kagame’s visit to Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
During their meeting, President Xi reaffirmed China’s support for Rwanda’s independent development path and expressed a willingness to deepen exchanges on party and state governance. He emphasized enhancing political mutual trust and expanding shared goals in their modernization efforts.
President Xi highlighted the FOCAC summit as a historic opportunity to upgrade bilateral relations. He stated that China is dedicated to implementing the summit’s outcomes with Rwanda, focusing on cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, satellite applications, and other sectors. China also expressed interest in jointly running the Confucius Institute at the University of Rwanda and the Luban Workshop, promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries.
President Xi acknowledged Rwanda’s positive contributions to maintaining peace and security in Africa and expressed China’s readiness to deepen collaboration in peacekeeping and other areas.
President Kagame recalled President Xi’s visit to Rwanda in 2018, highlighting the shared values of multilateralism and respect for sovereignty between the peoples of Rwanda and China. He reiterated Rwanda’s firm adherence to the one-China policy and support for China’s national reunification.
President Kagame thanked China’s leadership for promoting peace, security, and cooperation in Africa. He reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to strengthening governance exchanges, advancing practical cooperation, and jointly implementing the three global initiatives proposed by President Xi.
Following the meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement on promoting and implementing the Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative.
During the summit, China and Rwanda also signed several bilateral cooperation agreements covering areas such as honey exports to China, digital and information communication, and media cooperation.
Reference(s):
China, Rwanda elevate ties to comprehensive strategic partnership
cgtn.com
