60 years ago, the first Asian-African Conference, also known as Bandung Conference - a meeting of 29 Asian and African states - was held in Bandung, Indonesia. The conference was organized by Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and India. The Bandung spirit, featuring unity, friendship and cooperation, is one of the legacies of the conference.

60 years on, the leaders and representatives of Asian and African states have gone back to the birthplace of the Bandung Conference to conduct discussions on how to rejuvenate their nations through friendly cooperation and development. In a changing world, Asia-Africa cooperation is of increasing importance to the whole world. Asia and Africa are both important cradles of human civilization. The peoples of these two continents account for two thirds of the total, and the states in Asia and Africa account for more than half of the UN membership. Asian and African states account for more than one third of the global economy.

Asia-Africa cooperation plays an exemplary role in South-South cooperation. As developing countries make progress, South-South cooperation presents important opportunities. Asian and African states should strengthen their unity and cooperation with the developing countries in Latin America and the South Pacific. In addition, Asian and African countries should make the non-alignment movement, the Group of 77, and other similar organisations work properly. Moreover, these nations should build collaboration platforms such as the the CICA summit and BRICS, and conduct discussions on the construction of the new framework of South-South cooperation. All these efforts hinge on enhancing the representative character and the voice of the developing countries in the international system, and better safeguarding the reasonable rights of the developing countries.

Asian and African cooperation is an important element of international development. Asian and African countries should promote South-North cooperation, and encourage the developed countries to support the development of developing countries. This will make it possible to narrow the gap between the developing countries and developed countries, and build an equal and more balanced global partnership for development.

China advocates and encourages Asia-Africa cooperation, delivering on its commitments to maintain peace and stability in Asia and Africa, promoting the development of Asia and Africa, and enhancing the unity and cooperation between Asia and Africa.

This article is edited and translated from 《人民日报钟声：亚非合作再出发》，source: People's Daily