Speech by Ambassador He Yafei

at the Second African Forum for Dialogue

(25th May 2010, Grand Hotel Kempinski)

Mr. Chairman,

His Excellency Dr. Jean Ping,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It is a privilege for me to attend and address the Second African Forum for Dialogue. I would like to thank the Permanent Delegation of the African Union for the kind invitation.

This year is the year of 10-year review of UN Millennium Development Goals. It is of special significance that we are having this Dialogue Forum to share ideas and showcase achievements of African progress in peace, security and sustainable development, and to further promote partnerships among members of international community with interests in and commitments to development in Africa.

My today’s speech covers 2 main parts, with the first part focusing on how the international community should work to create a favorable external environment for African peace, security and sustainable development, and second one on progress in China-Africa cooperation.

My diplomatic career started in Africa, when I joined the African Department in China’s Foreign Ministry 30 years ago. 5 years later, I was posted as a young diplomat in Zimbabwe. In other words, the prime of my life was spent in Africa, where I was enchanted with the charm of the vast land of African continent, and I indulged in the beauty and power of the Victoria Falls, and I fell in love with the simplicity and passion of African people. From then on, I have been keeping keen interests in Africa and African development.

In today’s Africa, the peace and security situation has been improving and progress has been made in regional cooperation and its integration process, with some of age-long hot-spots cooling down. In the post-financial crisis era, Africa is showing signs of economic recovery. At the same time, Africa is still faced with daunting challenges. Peace and security need to be consolidated; economic recovery needs to overcome its weaknesses and fundamental problems; agricultural basis and food security need to be strengthened; financial and external debt burden needs to be reduced; and its social services including health and medical care, culture and education need to be further improved.

African countries account for 1/4 of the UN membership and 12 percent of the world's population, but only 0.8 percent of the world's total GDP and 2 percent of the global trade. Without the development of Africa, there would be no sustained development of the whole world. The international community should pay closer attention to the issues of Africa, listen to and respect its views, accommodate its concerns and support African governments and people in their efforts towards peace, security and sustainable development.

First, it is important to safeguard peace and security in Africa. Peace and security are the preconditions for development. At present, some African countries are still under threats of instability. The UN should play an active role and urge all parties concerned to settle disputes through consultation and negotiation to maintain and consolidate peace and security in Africa and create a favorable political environment for Africa's development. The international community, including NGOs, civil society and other stakeholders, should work together to help African countries develop economy, eradicate poverty, protect environment, promote social progress and remove the root causes of conflicts and instability in Africa.

Second, it is important to deliver on the commitments of assistance to Africa. Africa's development cannot be possible without the strong support of the international community. We should honor our commitments to Africa and increase the ODA to 0.7 percent of GNI. At the same time, South-South cooperation needs to be strengthened. In this regard, we should align our efforts with the basic needs and long-term development strategy of African countries, and respect their participation, ownership and their choice for development.

Third, it is important to step up capacity building for Africa. African countries bear the primary responsibility for their long-term development. For almost 10 years, NEPAD, as a pledge by African people based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction, has played a critical role in eradicating poverty and placing their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development. Africa has fulfilled its duty, and now it’s time for us to fulfill our part in debt relief, market access and technology transfer. More over, efforts should be made to increase their voice and participation in international financial reforms.

Fourth, it is important to help Africa meet global challenges. In recent years, financial crisis, climate change, food security and energy security have not only increased uncertainties in world economy, but also posed new challenges to Africa. As all these issues bear on people's basic livelihood, failure to address them will be detrimental to the future development in Africa. We should listen to the African countries' concerns, address their difficulties in a holistic approach, ensure development and assistance programs are coherent and coordinated, and forge a genuine global partnership to achieve win-win results.

Mr. Chairman,

Now comes to the second part of my speech on China-Africa cooperation.

China is the largest developing country and Africa is home to most developing countries. China-Africa cooperation is an important part of the South-South cooperation. The Chinese Government is firmly committed to strengthening its friendly cooperation with Africa and supporting Africa in achieving peace and development.

In peace and security fronts, China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has been always supporting and participating in UN peacekeeping operations in Africa. Since 1990, China has participated in 12 UN peacekeeping operations in Africa, providing more than 10,000 personnel. Now there are more than 1600 military staff and civilian police from China in Africa. China supports the conflict-resolution efforts of African countries, sub-regional organizations and African Union. The Chinese Government appointed its Special Representative for African Affairs in May 2007. H.E. Ambassador Liu Guijin has been working in smoothing away the conflicts in Darfur, Sudan and other parts of the Continent. China actively joined the international anti-pirates task force patrolling the waters off Somalia, and made important contribution on keeping the security of the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters.

In economic and social fronts, China, for over 50 years, has provided assistance to Africa to the best of its capability. China made US$7.8 billion of direct investments in Africa by 2008. Two-way trade between China and Africa reached US$91.1 billion in 2009. By the end of 2009, China had built more than 900 infrastructure and public welfare projects, sent 17,000 medical personnel to 47 African countries, where they had treated 200 million patients, provided over 20,000 government scholarships

In order to further strengthen the friendly cooperation between China and Africa, to jointly meet the challenge of economic globalization and to promote common development, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was established by China and friendly African countries in 2000.

Since its establishment, the Forum has held one summit and four ministerial conferences. At Beijing summit in 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced 8 measures to strengthen pragmatic cooperation with Africa and support African development, including providing more aid, establishing China-Africa development Fund, canceling debts, waiving duties, creating economic and trading cooperation districts in African countries, training African professionals, dispatching agricultural experts, building agricultural centers, hospitals, malaria prevention and treatment centers, schools for Africa. Despite the impact of the international financial crisis and the many difficulties we face at home, we have honored the commitments we made at the Beijing Summit in an all-round way. The plan to cancel 168 debts owed by 33 African countries is near completion. The China-Africa Development Fund has become operational as scheduled. These measures have not only added to Africa's capacity for self-development but also helped African countries in their effort to counter the financial crisis.

At the 4th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2009, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced 8 new measures to further strengthen China-Africa cooperation, including:

--To establish a China-Africa partnership to address climate change;

--To enhance cooperation with Africa in science and technology;

--To help build up African financial capacity;

--To further open up China's market to African products;

--To further enhance agricultural cooperation with Africa;

--To deepen cooperation in medical care and health;

--To enhance cooperation in HRD and education;

--To expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. We believe that this Forum will play an even bigger role in facilitating cooperation and relationship between China and Africa. China will continue to enhance cooperation with African countries, ensure the successful implementation of the measures, and take effective steps to support Africa's peace, security and sustainable development. The new type of China-Africa strategic partnership will benefit both the Chinese and African people.

The 21st century is a peace, security and sustainable development century. China is, as always, ready to work with African countries and all other partners to achieve this goal.