This photo taken on Aug. 29, 2024 shows the logo of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) near China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China. The FOCAC summit is scheduled to take place in Beijing from Sept. 4 to 6. Photo: Xinhua

The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday. Leaders from China and over 50 African members, as well as representatives from African regional organizations and international organizations, will once again gather in Beijing. This is the fourth time the FOCAC is being held in a form of a summit, and it is also the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders. Over the past few days, African leaders have been arriving in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday started holding bilateral events with foreign leaders who will attend the 2024 Summit. This also marks the official beginning of the "2024 Summit of the FOCAC time." 

The theme of this year's summit is "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," highlighting the exploration of the path to modernization as a key focus of the summit. China and Africa share a natural advantage in cooperation, stemming from mutual empathy. China is the largest developing country, while Africa has the highest concentration of developing countries. Both have similar historical memories of long-term poverty, weakness, and suffering from aggression, and both aspire to achieve independence, self-determination and justice. Moreover, they both hope to realize modernization and improve the living standards of their people. China is well aware of the challenges and difficulties that African countries face in their development. When it comes to China-Africa cooperation, many Africans share the sentiment that China responds urgently to Africa's needs and addresses Africa's difficulties.

In the new era, President Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, which have received broad support from African countries. The historical wheel of the community with a shared future between China and Africa has accelerated. China-Africa cooperation, which initially focused on economy, trade, poverty reduction, and development, has gradually expanded into practical cooperation in various areas such as governance, cultural exchanges, peace and security and public health, achieving leapfrog development. In 2013, President Xi visited Africa, his first official overseas visit after assuming the office of president, emphasizing that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future. In 2018, President Xi delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the FOCAC, highlighting the joint efforts to build "an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era." The practical significance of FOCAC has continued to grow and evolve, demonstrating its comprehensiveness and strategic nature, making it a crucial platform for collective consultation and coordinated action between China and Africa, and a hallmark of international cooperation with Africa.

Today, the African continent is at a crucial moment in search of a path and model for modernization. Many African countries' leaders arrived in China days in advance to visit various provinces and cities, aiming to gain a comprehensive understanding of China's modernization process and to engage in targeted high-level cooperation with China. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa's first stop in China was Shenzhen, while Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi chose Shanghai as his first destination. President of the Central Africa Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera visited Chongqing, citing "similar geographical characteristics" between the two regions and expressing his desire to learn how China's inland cities achieve opening-up to the world. 

On Madagascar's 20,000 Ariary banknote, a Chinese hybrid rice is clearly printed, in order to commemorate Chinese experts who promoted hybrid rice locally and effectively improved the country's self-sufficiency in food. Some African scholars have pointed out that a distinctive feature of China's cooperation with Africa is being "driven by Africa's needs," which has also led to more countries "willing to listen to Africa's voice and establish equal partnerships." The FOCAC has always been based on voluntary and equal principles, dedicated to addressing practical livelihood issues in Africa. This is an important reason why China-Africa cooperation is down-to-earth and vibrant. 

The exchanges between China and Africa represent an unprecedented new phenomenon in the process of globalization. Two formerly colonized and underdeveloped economies engaging in such extensive and in-depth exchanges and cooperation are gradually becoming a new engine for global development, carrying significant world-historical meaning. In a certain sense, globalization is no longer a puppet show dominated by the West but is evolving toward a more inclusive and diverse direction, aligning with the mainstream wishes and needs of the international community.

Due to the great success of the FOCAC, many countries have also rushed to establish "Africa+1" cooperation mechanisms. We call on all countries to work together to contribute to Africa's modernization based on fully respecting the will of African countries. We oppose any geopolitical manipulation, welcome and are willing to cooperate with all parties sincerely focused on Africa's development. China's cooperation with Africa is not exclusive, but highly inclusive.

In the past, China was a companion of Africa in seeking liberation; in the future, China will also be a fellow traveler of Africa in seeking development. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in July this year made systematic arrangements for further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese modernization. It proposes that we should remain committed to the basic state policy of opening up to the outside world and develop new institutions for a higher-standard open economy, which will provide solid guarantees for Chinese modernization and also promote the construction of an open world economy. It's believed that the upcoming 2024 Summit of FOCAC will once again leave a significant mark in the history of civilizational exchanges between China and Africa, injecting new powerful momentum into cooperation in the China-Africa field.