Strong public support for the development of China-Africa relations

Premier Li Keqiang paid visits to Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and the headquarters of the African Union in May 2014 after President Xi Jinping’s visit to Tanzania, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo in March 2013. The Second China-Africa Local Government Cooperation Forum will be held in Beijing this month. The dynamic communication between the people, the leaders, and the government of China and their African counterparts signals the sound development of China-Africa relations and greater South-South cooperation.

Frequent high-level visits strengthen political mutual trust, ensure new strategic partnerships, and help increase the friendship between China and African countries. People-to-people exchanges between China and Africa have developed at an unprecedented pace and on an expanding scale in recent years. African people gain their impressions of China from Chinese diplomats, from the precise wording of white papers, from Chinese people around them, from the Chinese products they use, and from stories of China they have heard.

A senior reporter from Kenya told us that a Chinese volunteer teaches and helps poor people in Kenyan villages. His dedication and noble character have won him fame and respect among the local people. Moreover, he is the focus of attention in the villages where he does volunteer work.

The friendship between China and Africa would be inconceivable without cultural exchanges. The Chinese TV series “A Beautiful Daughter-In-Law Era” has been translated into Swahili and is a hit TV show in Tanzania. The Tanzanians learn more about distant China from hearing about the family life of ordinary Chinese.

The sound and sustainable development of China-Africa relations will be ensured if Chinese businessmen, scholars and workers in Africa show good spirit, behave with courtesy, and display their sincerity, honesty and kindness. People-to-people exchanges lay the foundations of mutual trust between China and Africa. The growth in bilateral exchanges and mutual trust will consolidate public support for the common development of China and the African countries.

The author is He Wenping, a researcher at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.The article is edited and translated from《 中非友好民意基础雄厚》， author: He Wenping， source: People's Daily