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BEIJING. – Positive China-Africa cooperation can inject more stability into the world, Chinese State Councillor and Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu said at the Third China-Africa Peace and Security Forum that kicked off yesterday in Beijing.
Some defence officials and military officers from African countries also hailed the China-proposed Global Security Initiative (GSI), noting the deepened China-Africa cooperation could help tackle security challenges the continent is facing.
Unlike some former colonial powers in the West such as France that continue to intervene in various ways in Africa, supporting different political factions and inciting conflicts, China respects Africa’s independent development and its political wisdom in choosing its own development path, and China actively participates in meetings in tackling hotspot issues and urging regional countries to resolve divergences through negotiations, some observers said.
At present, Africa has become a stage for large-scale geopolitical confrontation, being confronted with many forms of security threats such as terrorism, imperialism and hegemony. The forum, injecting new impetus to the GSI, opposes foreign interference and advocates political settlement of conflict, fundamentally reducing Africa’s dependence on external intervention and not creating opportunities for external forces to intervene in the continent, they noted.
In a keynote speech delivered at the forum, Li stressed that, as to the cooperation between China and Africa, the principle of equality will not change, the tradition of helping each other will not change, the direction of practical cooperation will not change and the spirit of valuing righteousness will not change.
China is the biggest developing country and Africa is the continent home to the largest number of developing countries. China and Africa share weak and woe, and China is ready to firmly stand with the African people to implement the GSI and build a China-Africa community with shared future, Li said.
In the future, China will enhance military cooperation with Africa in various fields including joint exercises, peacekeeping and escorting, military education as well as professional training in order to inject more certainty, stability and positive energy to a turbulent world, Li noted.
It is the first time the forum was held offline in a post-Covid pandemic setting. Representatives from nearly 50 countries and regional organisations in Africa attended the forum.
The core of Li’s speech touches upon the biggest concern of our country and our military, which is the security issue in a turbulent world, Colonel Aboubarca Serme from Mali said yesterday at the forum. He noted that it is an undoubted consensus of China and Africa that we should enhance cooperation based on dialogue in order to deal with competition.
“Experience proves that the expansion of some alliances has exacerbated the insecurity in the world. Thus we have to change our mind and methods to safeguard global security. This is what African countries, especially Saharan countries, care most about. And cooperation on this should not be limited between African countries and Saharan countries, but should be expanded to all countries with the same goal,” Serme said. – Global Times
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