Sino-African cooperation, what’s the next step?

Editor’s note:

The Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is being held in Beijing from July 19 to 20. People's Daily Online (PD Online) interviewed Ren Xiaoping (Ren), former Chinese Ambassador to Namibia, discussing the significance of Sino-African cooperation and FOCAC.

PD Online: What impressed you most during the three years when you lived in Africa as an ambassador to Namibia?

Ren：Africa is a vast continent full of mysteries and charm. Due to centuries of colonial domination, Africa was in the abyss of misery while the ever-developing continent nowadays embraces great potential and hopes.

In terms of Chinese government and policies of foreign affairs, we have a relatively all-round and in-depth understanding of Africa. However, due to the influence of geographical isolation and some reports by Western media, some Chinese people’s knowledge of Africa is neither comprehensive nor objective and they believe Africa is filled with hunger and disasters. We have to admit that these problems do exist in some nations, but generally speaking Africa is a hopeful and fascinating land.