August 29 (Xinhua) — On August 29, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held a special press conference. Xu Jianping, Director of the Department of Regional Opening-up of the NDRC, introduced the overall situation of the 2024 edition of the Blue Book titled "Report on the Development of China-Africa Jointly Building the Belt and Road," as well as the achievements of China-Africa cooperation in jointly building the Belt and Road.

Xu Jianping stated that over the past 11 years, China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation has been translated from concept into action and from vision into reality, creating a sound situation featuring smooth flows of goods, amicable relations between governments and peoples, mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and common prosperity and development. It has injected new impetus and vitality into the economic and social development of African countries and provided important support for accelerating the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future. African countries are important supporters, participants and beneficiaries of Belt and Road cooperation. At present, 52 African countries and the African Union have signed memoranda of understanding on Belt and Road cooperation with China, forming a high degree of consensus on the concepts, principles and goals of Belt and Road cooperation. On this basis, and in light of the economic and social development needs of African countries, China has successively signed Belt and Road cooperation plans with a number of African countries and the African Union, comprehensively and thoroughly strengthening the alignment of Belt and Road cooperation with the development strategies of African countries, identifying key areas and key content of cooperation, and advancing practical China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation.

When briefly introducing the "three major achievements" and "three major outlooks" concerning the 2024 edition of the Blue Book "Report on the Development of China-Africa Jointly Building the Belt and Road," Xu Jianping said that regarding the "three major achievements," first, infrastructure "hard connectivity" has reached a new level. At present, Chinese enterprises have cumulatively participated in the construction and renovation of more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, nearly 1,000 bridges, nearly 100 ports, 66,000 kilometers of power transmission and transformation lines, and 150,000 kilometers of backbone communication networks across African countries. In terms of railways, a number of projects have been built, including the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway between Ethiopia and Djibouti, and the Abuja-Kaduna Railway in Nigeria, helping Africa initially form a railway backbone network. In terms of roads, a number of projects have been built, including the Nairobi Expressway (the "Gateway Road") in Kenya, National Road No. 1 in the Republic of the Congo, and the North-South Highway in Algeria, effectively improving road accessibility in Africa. In terms of ports, a number of projects have been built, including the Lekki Deep Sea Port in Nigeria, the Kribi Deep Sea Port in Cameroon, and the Port of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, effectively enhancing the momentum of maritime transport and trade development in African countries. In terms of power, a number of projects have been built, including the Souapiti Hydropower Complex in Guinea, the Gouina Hydropower Station in Mali, and the Djibloho Hydropower Station in Equatorial Guinea, effectively improving Africa's power supply. These infrastructure projects have provided important support for the sound economic and social development of Africa and the steady advancement of its modernization drive.

Second, "soft connectivity" of rules and standards has reached a new level. In terms of aligning economic and trade rules, as of the end of June this year, China has implemented zero tariffs on 98 percent of tariff lines for products originating from 27 African least developed countries, signed bilateral agreements on the promotion and protection of investment with 34 African countries, and signed agreements on the avoidance of double taxation with 21 African countries. Supported and guaranteed by the "soft connectivity" of China-Africa economic and trade rules, China-Africa trade volume reached US$282.1 billion in 2023, setting a new historical peak for the second consecutive year; as of the end of 2023, China's stock of direct investment in Africa exceeded US$40 billion; in 2024, China-Africa trade and investment continued to maintain a steady development momentum, fully demonstrating the strong vitality and resilience of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. In terms of mutual recognition of standards, China has signed eight standardization cooperation documents with five African countries—Ethiopia, Sudan, Morocco, Niger and Benin—and the African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission, achieving mutual recognition and integrated development of standards in key areas such as agriculture, energy, mining, transportation and climate change. In terms of intellectual property cooperation, China has established cooperation mechanisms with the intellectual property authorities of nine African countries and two African regional intellectual property organizations, and has cumulatively signed 25 bilateral cooperation documents, with China-Africa cooperation in the field of intellectual property continuously deepening.

Third, "heart-to-heart connectivity" between the Chinese and African peoples has reached a new level. In terms of poverty reduction and improving people's wellbeing, as of the end of June this year, China has provided assistance funds to 53 African countries and implemented a number of livelihood projects in areas such as food, water supply, maternal and child health, and education, benefiting more than 10 million people. In terms of talent cultivation, China and Africa have jointly implemented the "African Students Employment Express" program, set up a number of special scholarships, established the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, and implemented the "Head Goose Program." At present, 17 "Luban Workshops" have been built in Africa, cultivating a large number of highly skilled talents for African countries. In terms of health, China has aided in the construction of more than 130 hospitals and clinics in Africa, dispatched Chinese medical teams to 45 African countries, and established paired cooperation mechanisms with 46 African hospitals, helping African countries improve their medical and health levels. In terms of science, technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges, China and Africa have deepened the "China-Africa Science and Technology Partnership Program," signing intergovernmental science and technology cooperation agreements with 16 African countries; 62 African media outlets have joined the Belt and Road News Network, and 50 African media outlets have joined the "Africa Partners" media circle cooperation mechanism; China has signed bilateral tourism cooperation documents with 31 African countries and established 166 pairs of sister cities with Africa; social organizations such as the Red Cross Society of China and the China NGO Network for International Exchanges have actively carried out cooperation in more than 20 fields, including humanitarian relief and environmental protection, in Africa, and the bonds of China-Africa cooperation are growing ever stronger.

Xu Jianping stated that regarding the "three major outlooks," first, the two sides will continue to jointly consolidate the foundation for practical China-Africa cooperation. China and Africa will continuously deepen exchanges of experience in governance, strengthen the alignment of development concepts, and jointly explore development paths suited to each country's national conditions. China and Africa will jointly promote stronger alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, continuously elevate the level of the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership, and play an important supporting role in building an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future.

Second, the two sides will continue to jointly expand new areas of China-Africa cooperation. China and Africa will continue to strengthen cooperation in the field of health, supporting Africa in improving its capacity to prevent and treat communicable and non-communicable diseases and its public health levels. China and Africa will jointly implement green development actions, advocate green and low-carbon concepts, and practice the concept of green, coordinated and sustainable development. China and Africa will continue to strengthen digital infrastructure construction and deepen cooperation in fields such as the digital economy and artificial intelligence. China and Africa will continue to build an even closer innovative partnership and thoroughly implement the Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan.

Third, the two sides will continue to jointly improve people's wellbeing. China and Africa will jointly enhance the momentum of economic development, build broadly participatory international cooperation platforms, promote Africa's economic and social development, and provide the material foundation for improving people's wellbeing. In areas such as juncao technology, biogas promotion and greenhouse cultivation—which teach people how to fish, are easy to produce tangible results and help alleviate poverty—China and Africa will plan and build a number of "small yet beautiful" livelihood projects to further enhance Africa's capacity for self-driven sustainable development and help the African people accelerate the process of shaking off poverty and becoming prosperous.