China and its African partners reached a consensus in Cairo on Sunday to move forward the new China-Africa strategic partnership by further carrying out bilateral cooperation programs in various fields.

At the end of the sixth senior officials meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), delegates from China and the forum's African members promised to implement the follow-up actions agreed during the Beijing summit of the FOCAC in 2006.

During the two-day meeting, representatives from 50 FOCAC members reviewed a report presented by Xu Jinghu, Secretary General of the Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of the forum, on the follow-up actions of the summit and further moves.

Stressing the Sino-African cooperation as "fruitful", the two sides will take further steps to strengthen mutual political trust, fully implement cooperation programs reached within the framework of the forum and improve the forum's mechanism.

Noting the current international financial crises, food price hikes and energy turmoil, participants of the meeting said Africa's cooperation with China in these fields will help the continent better cope with the challenges.

The meeting also tackled preparation works for the fourth ministerial conference of the forum, which is scheduled for 2009 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The FOCAC was jointly proposed and established by China and more than 40 African countries in 2000. During the Beijing summit in 2006, the forum members agreed to establish a "new type of strategic partnership" between China and Africa.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2008)