China stands ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Africa and supports its chosen development path: Wang Yi

Models imposed from outside have brought neither ‘stability nor prosperity’ to African countries, foreign minister tells ‘two sessions’ press conference

Wang said triennial FOCAC summit will take place in autumn as an in-person event. The multilateral event was last held online during the pandemic

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks to journalists at a press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress meeting in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:57pm, 7 Mar 2024Updated: 5:33pm, 7 Mar 2024

Africa and China have fought “shoulder to shoulder” against imperialism and colonialism, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday, as he pledged Beijing’s continued support for African development.

Wang said Africa should not be marginalised and urged “all sides” of the global community to support the continent with “real actions” and a respect for Africa’s own development approaches.

“African countries are experiencing a new awakening. Models imposed from outside have brought Africa neither stability nor prosperity,” he told the press during the annual “two sessions” of China’s top legislature and political advisory body in Beijing.

“African countries need to explore development paths suited to their national conditions and keep their future and destiny firmly in their own hands,” he said.

Wang also said that the multilateral Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) would return in the autumn as an “in-person” event. The triennial summit’s eighth instalment in 2021 was moved online because of the pandemic.

China will support an Africa that is “truly independent in thinking and ideas” in a “new historical process”, Wang said, reiterating Beijing’s continued insistence on the continent’s freedom from external pressures.