Full Text: China's second Africa policy paper (3)

Part III. Promoting the All-Round Development of China-Africa Cooperation

1. Enhancing political mutual trust

(1) Intensifying high-level exchanges

While bringing into play the role of high-level exchanges in providing political guidance, China will maintain the momentum of frequent mutual visits and dialogue between Chinese and African leaders, with a view to facilitating communication on bilateral relations and major issues of common interest, solidifying traditional friendship, and bolstering political mutual trust. China advocates mutual understanding and support on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns. It calls for safeguarding shared interests, pursuing development together, and deepening cooperation. All these aim to lay a solid political groundwork for the development of bilateral relations between China and individual African countries as well as the overall China-Africa relationship.

(2) Boosting experience sharing in governance

China is of the view that countries should respect and support each other's efforts to explore and improve development paths and political systems suited to their national conditions. It is ready to engage in a variety of experience-sharing programs with African countries. Through these programs, they will draw wisdom from each other's civilizations and development practices, increase exchanges of governance experience, and promote common development in accordance with the principles of communication on an equal footing, mutual learning, and shared progress.

(3) Improving intergovernmental consultation and cooperation mechanisms

China will make the most of the coordinating role of bilateral mechanisms such as political consultations between foreign ministries, joint (mixed) committees on trade and economic cooperation and high-level economic and trade cooperation mechanisms, and mixed committees on science and technology. It will further diversify and improve intergovernmental dialogue and consultation mechanisms to promote China-Africa intergovernmental dialogue and cooperation.

(4) Promoting exchanges in various sectors including those between legislative bodies, consultative bodies, political parties, the military and local governments

In keeping with the purpose of deepening understanding and cooperation with mutual respect, China favors increased multi-level, multi-channel, multi-form and all-dimensional friendly exchanges between the National People's Congress of China and organizations such as the parliaments of African countries and the Pan-African Parliament. These will help further substantiate the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership.

China stands for expanded and strengthened exchanges between the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and relevant institutions such as African national parliaments, the Pan-African Parliament, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union (AU), and the economic and social councils of individual African countries.

The Communist Party of China stands ready to expand and deepen diverse forms of exchanges and cooperation with friendly political parties and organizations in African countries based on the principles of independence, equality, mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. It is committed to exploring a new platform for collective communication and dialogue with the aim of enhancing mutual understanding and friendship and deepening exchanges of governance experience. This will also enable them to better understand and recognize each other's governance systems and philosophies, learn from each other, improve governance capacities together and contribute to the development of state-to-state relations.

Efforts will be made to maintain the momentum of mutual visits between Chinese and African military leaders, and push for strengthened policy dialogue and increased exchanges between young officers.

China supports the establishment of an increasing number of twin province/state and twin city relationships between China and African countries in a bid to strengthen ties between Chinese and African local governments and facilitate exchanges and cooperation in local development and administration.

2. Deepening cooperation in international affairs

China will further enhance exchanges and cooperation with African countries in international institutions such as the UN and on other international occasions. It will maintain communication and coordination with African countries on prominent international and regional issues. It stands for mutual understanding and support on major issues concerning their respective state sovereignty, territorial integrity, national dignity and development interests, while safeguarding their shared interests as well as those of developing countries.

China will work in concert with Africa to uphold the international order and system underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. It is firmly supportive of increasing the representation and voice of developing countries in the international governance system. Supporting comprehensive reform of the UN, China maintains that priority should be given to increasing African countries' representation and voice in the UN Security Council and other UN agencies to address the injustices Africa suffered historically. It is committed, as African nations are, to defending the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, upholding international fairness and justice, and making the world order more just and reasonable.

China calls on the international community to continue to step up the global economic governance reform-in particular, to deliver the promised IMF quota reform as soon as possible-so as to increase the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries. It calls for strengthened dialogue between the G20 and Africa and is supportive of Africa' s participation in G20 affairs.

China will join hands with Africa to call on members of the international community to realize that they are all in the same boat and should therefore share rights and responsibilities. In this spirit, it calls for efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit, strengthen all countries' capacities for development, ameliorate the international environment for development, optimize development partnerships and improve development coordination mechanisms. All these aim to achieve balanced, sustainable and inclusive growth, jointly create a path of development that is fair, open, comprehensive and innovative, realize common development and advance the common interests of mankind. China will continue to uphold and advocate the principles such as equality, mutual trust, win-win results, solidarity and cooperation while promoting South-South cooperation at a higher level, in a broader scope and on a larger scale under the new circumstances.

China reaffirms the fundamental role of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the international response to climate change. It agrees to jointly maintain the solidarity of developing countries, while upholding the principles and provisions of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol, especially the principles of equity, "common but differentiated responsibilities" and respective capabilities. It is resolved to work for the establishment of an equitable, reasonable, cooperative and mutually beneficial international climate management system, and promote all-round, effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC. China has taken note of the progress made in the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa. It agrees to jointly safeguard the interests of developing countries and push for the convention's full and effective implementation. (mo