PR100114

BEIJING, May 27, 2023 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

In 2015, China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) established a

strategic partnership of win-win cooperation, which provided a strategic

direction for the further development of bilateral relations.

By upgrading ties into a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership on

Friday in Beijing, the two countries are eyeing mature, stable and

groundbreaking China-DRC relations that will benefit the two peoples.

During a meeting with DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, who is

in China for a state visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the fruitful

cooperation achieved by the two countries, adding the two sides have forged a

close community of shared interests and shared future.

Strategic partners walking side by side

Over the years, through the signing of a series of agreements and memorandums

of understanding covering agriculture, health, trade, infrastructure and other

fields, the friendly cooperation between China and the DRC has continued to

deepen.

China has been the DRC's largest trading partner and source of foreign

investment for many years in a row. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume reached

$21.898 billion, a year on year increase of 51.7 percent.

Infrastructure cooperation between the two countries has also yielded fruitful

results.

China has aided the construction of projects such as the People's Palace, home

to the National Assembly and the Senate, the Martyrs Stadium and the Central

African Cultural and Arts Center, which will be completed by the end of this

year.

China-DRC Friendship Hospital is a landmark project of bilateral medical and

health cooperation. Since its completion, the hospital has treated a large

number of patients, effectively improving the medical conditions of the

Congolese people.

In Friday's meeting, Xi told Tshisekedi that China will work with the DRC to

support each other, seek cooperation, promote development and make progress

together on the road of development and revitalization.

China's high-quality development will provide more cooperation opportunities

and a broader market for the DRC and promote greater development of bilateral

relations, Xi said, adding China will, as always, help the DRC in its economic

and social development.

Appreciating China for its long-term help and valuable support for the economic

and social development of the DRC, Tshisekedi said the friendly cooperation

between the two countries has withstood the test of time and achieved fruitful

results, which are worth cherishing by both sides.

A China-Africa community with a shared future

Amid the current international situation, China and Africa need to strengthen

solidarity and cooperation more than ever, Xi pointed out.

Calling for jointly safeguarding the common interests of developing countries,

Xi said China firmly supports Africa in pursuing an independent development

path, and in becoming an important pole of world politics, economy and

civilization.

Under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China

announced the 10 major China-Africa cooperation plans at the FOCAC's

Johannesburg Summit in 2015 and the eight major initiatives at the Beijing

Summit in 2018, raising China-Africa relations to a new level.

When addressing the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the

FOCAC held in Dakar in 2021, Tshisekedi said "Africans and Chinese are side by

side today as old friends," calling on the two sides to realize "the common

ambition of sharing destiny, solidarity, justice and being exemplary in

relations between the two peoples."

Pledging to implement the nine programs of China-Africa cooperation announced

in Dakar, Xi called for joint efforts to promote the joint construction of the

Belt and Road to support Africa to achieve sustainable development, and build a

China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-05-26/China-DRC-ties-enter-comprehensive-deep-going-growth-with-full-vitality-1k7VqkD2Pyo/index.html

SOURCE  CGTN