‘Media critical to Advancing China-Africa cooperation’

The media is playing a key role in strengthening the growing diplomatic and bilateral relationship between China and the African continent, the Deputy Director of China Foreign Language Administration, Liu Dawei, has said. 

Speaking at a seminar for African media managers in Beijing, Liu Dawei highlighted that China’s friendship with Africa is anchored on the “storytelling capacity of the media and the facilitation of people-to-people exchanges.”

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Twenty-two journalists and media managers from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia, Burundi, Angola, and Mauritius are currently attending the two-week program. Their presence reflects the significance placed on fostering communication and cooperation between China and Africa. Over the last few years, China-Africa relations have significantly improved, with China becoming the continent’s biggest trade partner for 13 consecutive years. 

The bilateral trade volume has now exceeded $260bn, solidifying the economic ties between the two partners.

Liu, whose agency is responsible for translating and publishing Chinese books into different languages, emphasized the tremendous progress witnessed in China-Africa relations over the past decade. This progress has garnered global attention and ushered in a new era of building a “high-quality relationship based on a shared future.” 

Notable landmark projects, including the African Union Conference Centre, the headquarters of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, and the Algeria-Djibouti railway, have been successfully completed, and have further strengthened the cooperation between the two regions.

Liu, therefore, urged the media to continue telling the stories of Africa and China.

Reports indicate that 52 African countries have embraced China’s Belt and Road initiative, a comprehensive project aimed at deepening trade and bilateral relationships between China and the rest of the world.