Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Constantly polish the gold lettered signboard of China Africa high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road"

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 27 (Reporter Dong Xue) -- Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on the 27th that the 2024 Forum on China Africa Cooperation Summit is about to open, and China is willing to work with Africa to constantly polish the gold lettered signboard of China Africa high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", and promote China Africa connectivity cooperation to speed up into the fast lane.

At the regular press conference on the same day, a reporter asked: Recently, an African scholar said that the high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has played an important role in promoting the connectivity of African countries. Africa still has a big gap in infrastructure construction. The joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" by Africa and China will be able to promote Africa's sustainable development, economic growth and regional integration. What is the spokesperson's comment on this? What can the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" bring to Africa's connectivity?

Lin Jian stated that infrastructure construction is an important foundation for Africa's development, and achieving interconnectivity is a common expectation of African countries. Over the years, under the framework of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation and the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", China has always adhered to the concept of truth, affinity and sincerity, and the correct concept of righteousness and benefit, and firmly supported African countries to improve infrastructure and connectivity to achieve sustainable development.

To get rich, first build roads, "he said. Over the years, China Africa cooperation has built and upgraded nearly 100000 kilometers of highways, over 10000 kilometers of railways, nearly a thousand bridges, and nearly a hundred ports. The completion of the Mombasa Nairobi Railway, Addis Ababa Djibouti Railway, Benguela Railway, and other railways has significantly improved the transportation efficiency between the coastal areas and the hinterland. The reception of 10000 ton large ships at the Kribi Deepwater Port in Cameroon brings development opportunities to landlocked countries, while the expansion project of Bole International Airport in Ethiopia helps to build the largest aviation hub in East Africa. The Lower Kafu Gorge Hydropower Station in Zambia, the Noo Solar Thermal Power Station in Morocco, and the Garissa Photovoltaic Power Station in Kenya have greatly alleviated the local electricity shortage. Chinese enterprises have helped Africa build more than half of its wireless stations and high-speed mobile broadband networks, serving over 900 million African people.

"At present, 52 African countries and the AU Commission have signed cooperation documents with China to jointly build the the Belt and Road, and are committed to solving their own development bottlenecks," said Lin Jian.

He said that the active participation of African countries is a beautiful landscape for high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".

"The 2024 FOCAC Summit is about to open, and high-quality joint construction of the 'the Belt and Road' will be one of the main topics of the summit." Lin Jian said that China is willing to work with Africa to continue to move forward in partnership on the path of win-win cooperation and common development, organically link the "the Belt and Road" initiative with the African Union's 2063 Agenda and the development strategies of African countries, constantly polish the gold lettered signboard of high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" between China and Africa, and promote China Africa connectivity cooperation to accelerate into the fast lane.