China's top political advisor visits Cote d'Ivoire to boost ties

China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng visited Cote d'Ivoire from Wednesday to Saturday to promote cooperation in various fields and enhance bilateral relations.

Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was visiting the African nation at the invitation of its Parliament Speaker Guillaume Soro.

In a meeting with Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara, Yu said that the bilateral relations between the two countries are at their best in history.

"I intend via my visit to promote the implementation of what have been agreed upon at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Johannesburg, South Africa, in December last year," Yu said.

Specifically, Yu said his visit was focused on the alignment of the 10 major plans for China-Africa cooperation announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in December with the five-year national development plan of Cote d'Ivoire.

This requires both sides to enhance their cooperation in such fields as industrialization, agricultural modernization and infrastructural construction, and to enrich the bilateral cooperation, Yu added.

Ouattara said that the 10 cooperation plans proposed by President Xi showed China's sincerity and its commitment to stronger ties with Africa.

China's decision to take Africa as its comprehensive strategic partner is a right strategic choice, and China's assistance is essential for African countries to fully tap their development potential and achieve open and diversified economic development, he said.

The president said he was grateful for the consistent support China has given to his country in economic and social development, adding that Cote d'Ivoire looked forward to enhancing cooperation with China.

Yu met with Soro on Thursday and said China and Cote d'Ivoire have maintained good relations in line with the principles of mutual respect and equality since they established diplomatic ties 33 years ago.

To further advance bilateral ties, the two sides should have more high-level exchanges, enhance political trust, and strengthen friendly people-to-people exchanges in various fields, Yu said.

He said the two countries should also expand their practical cooperation to achieve mutual beneficial and win-win results, and expand manufacturing cooperation to help upgrade Cote d'Ivoire's industry and create more jobs.

He also called on the two countries to increase their communication and coordination in international affairs.

Yu said that the CPPCC stands ready to deepen friendly cooperation and exchanges with Cote d'Ivoire's parliament.

Soro said that China and Cote d'Ivoire are good friends and partners, and that strengthening cooperation with China will help accelerate Cote d'Ivoire's industrialization and promote its social causes.

Soro said that Cote d'Ivoire admires China's development achievements and that its parliament is willing to strengthen friendly exchanges with China's top legislative and political advisory bodies.

"Only when countries promote international cooperation based on principles of equality and mutual benefit, will they have more economic development opportunities and their people enjoy more improvement in their standards of living," Yu said at a joint press conference with Soro.

"Our cooperation with Cote d'Ivoire is in the common interests of both sides," he said.0 Yu also visited some Chinese enterprises operating in Cote d'Ivoire, encouraging them to expand the cooperation and contribute to the development of the African country.

He called on Chinese employees working on Abidjan port expansion to help the development of Cote d'Ivoire with a high-quality construction project, in line with the spirit of President Xi's important speech on boosting China-Africa cooperation.

Chinese telecommunications company Huawei is the contractor for a project aimed at boosting safety in the capital. Yu said he looked forward to Huawei completing its project to contribute to the local community and set an example of the principles of openness and cooperation.

Yu visited the Culture Palace in Abidjan, which has been newly rehabilitated by Qingjian Group, saying that he hopes to see the facility well managed to promote the cultural development of Cote d'Ivoire.

Yu also attended a session with the local Chinese community and Chinese expatriates, calling on them to seize the opportunities of cooperation between China and Africa.

Yu was on an official visit to African nations that has taken him to Gabon earlier. He is expected to visit Ghana, too.