This year marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of diplomatic relations between China and African countries. Over that period China and Africa have become all-weather friends, partners of sincere cooperation, good brothers with the two forging a profound relationship, cementing bilateral ties and achieving great success. 

The Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), scheduled for November 3-5, will be the highest-level and largest meeting between Chinese and African leaders since they started to forge cooperative ties in the 1950s.

Over the past five decades the relations between China and African countries have become closer with the two understanding, supporting and helping each other. To date forty-eight of the Africa's 53 countries have established diplomatic ties with China. 

Since late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai's three visits to Africa in the 1960s there have been over 800 exchanges between senior Chinese and African leaders.

In the first half of this year Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao visited 10 African countries and injected new dynamism into relations.

The two share comprehensive consensus, common interests and a willingness to further enhance and deepen their cooperation on many issues. Frequent high-level reciprocal visits have promoted mutual understanding and trust and have effectively boosted the overall healthy development of bilateral ties.

The Chinese government issued its African Policy Paper in January this year presenting to the world the objectives of China's policy towards Africa and the measures required to achieve them.

In the document China elaborated on its definite objectives, a firm belief in carrying forward the traditional friendship and in developing a new type of strategic partnership with Africa under new circumstances. These comments received an enthusiastic response among African nations.

Since the FOCAC was established in 2000 economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa has entered a new era with comprehensive, rapid and stable development. Two-way trade volume rocketed to US$39.7 billion in 2005 after breaking the US$10 billion mark in 2000.

In addition China has forgiven debts of 10.9 billion yuan (US$1.38 billion) by 31 heavily indebted poorer and less developed African countries and extended zero-tariff treatment to some imports to China.

And Africa's energy resources, raw materials and industrial products began to enter the Chinese market. The two have seen excellent development with mutual benefits and win-win outcomes through their closer cooperation in trade and economy. 

In order to accelerate Africa's economic and social development and to further promote their trade and economic ties China has provided assistance without any political preconditions for African nations.

By the end of 2005 China had helped establish more than 720 projects for Africa, offered over 18,000 governmental scholarships, send over 15,000 medical personnel and treated some 170 million patients in Africa.

China promised to help Africa train 10,000 professionals three years ago at FOCAC's 2nd ministerial conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. That promise will be met in 2006.

China and Africa also share diversified kinds of culture. Up to the end of 2005 China had signed 65 cultural agreements with African countries and implemented 151 plans for exchanges.

Over the past five years more than 10 African nations have sent some 20 governmental cultural delegations to China and art groups from both have also visited each other and performed.  

In 2004 a China-Africa event was successfully held within the framework of the FOCAC which highlighted the cultural exchanges being progressed between the two. 

China, the largest developing country and Africa, a continent which is home to the majority of  developing countries in the world, have shared the same or similar views on important international issues.

Both have conducted close, comprehensive coordination and cooperation, jointly safeguarding their rights and interests and other developing nations.

African countries have offered valuable support to China and played an important role in restoring the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations (UN). 

They've given China strong support in foiling anti-China motions introduced by some Western countries at the UN Human Rights Commission, helped defeat many attempts by Taiwan to "participate in the United Nations" and to get into the World Heath Organization and other international bodies. African countries also supported China in its bid to host the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Expo.

FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly established by China and Africa to cope with new challenges and facilitate common development.

At the upcoming Beijing summit, African and Chinese leaders will review the development of their cooperation over the past five decades and the results achieved since the FOCAC's establishment six years ago. This is to ensure the development of the new type of strategic partnership, blueprint the two sides' pragmatic cooperation for the future and exchange views on important international affairs.

The summit is likely to raise the level of China-Africa cooperation and inject new life into the friendly relations between the two.   

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2006)