Nearly 200 delegates attend the 14th Senior Officials Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Chu Daye/GT

African diplomats attending a key forum on China-Africa cooperation on Thursday said that unilateralism, protectionism and bullying actions by some countries have caused serious damage to international order and the overall interests of developing nations. 

China-Africa cooperation is a vital platform for safeguarding the basic principles in maintaining international relations and multilateralism, delegates from 54 African countries said at the 14th Senior Officials Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing on Thursday. 

Delegates said that the combined population of China and Africa accounts for 35 percent of the world’s population and they shoulder great responsibility in global governance, and China-Africa cooperation is a paradigm for foreign cooperation with Africa, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

They vowed that China and Africa will uphold multilateralism and support the UN in the face of new challenges posed by unilateralism, protectionism, interference in other countries’ domestic affairs and sanctions, and increasingly support each other on matters that affect their respective core interests and areas of common concern.

The meeting was held to review the implementation of the follow-up actions of the Beijing Summit of FOCAC. At the Beijing Summit of FOCAC, held in September 2018, an eight-point approach was laid out to boost trade, investment and green investment between China and Africa.