Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's ongoing trip to Africa, which follows President Xi Jinping's visit to the continent last year, underscores the importance Beijing attaches to Africa.

Along with the development of this diversified continent and China's increasing interaction with it, we have to deal with specific characteristics of the politics, economy and society of the individual countries there, rather than taking Africa as a monolithic whole. Maintaining a steady growth of Sino-African relations will require a lot of work.

In Africa, government-to-government relations often play a decisive role. But the continent is also witnessing changes. In different African countries, public sentiments are becoming more and more important to relations at the governmental level. China must make efforts to build a good public image in African countries. And all of the Chinese living and working in Africa should be involved in this process.

In recent years, the arrival of a large number of Chinese in Africa has made them rather conspicuous. The Chinese government constantly calls on Chinese enterprises in Africa to abide by local laws and fulfill social responsibilities. But businesspeople usually give priority to economic interest, and not national image. Educating these enterprises operating in Africa will not make much of a difference. And due to Africa's relatively poor record in rule of law, some Chinese businessmen find it easier to take advantage of the legal loopholes.

Nonetheless, China must now enhance its efforts on building and maintaining a good image in Africa, which is now a new front for the Chinese economy and diplomatic strategy. There should be more visits by Chinese officials at various levels, and more reputable State-owned or private enterprises should be encouraged to enter Africa.

China has been treating Africa on an equal footing. Its presence in Africa is drawing other powers to  the continent, which brings the importance of Africa in global politics and economy to a new level. China's involvement in Africa is not without problems, but these problems do not dominate Sino-African relations.

In order to eliminate such misperceptions, we should have more dialogue and exchange of ideas with the African countries. It is expected that African countries will make political judgments from the perspective of their own interests. Meanwhile, China should also keep making practical endeavors to reduce or dissipate problems.

Premier Li's Africa trip further consolidates the Sino-African relationship. More top-level visits between China and Africa are needed to boost cooperation at various levels and in different spheres. This logic applies to any international relationship, but given Africa's poor infrastructure, it might be especially significant to the continent's long-lasting relationship with China.