Editor's Note: This is a speech by Joseph MARGAI from Concord Times, Sierra Leone on the occasion of the 7th China Africa Think Tank Forum.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen focused and dedicated to the promotion of China Africa relation, I greet you all.

I want to first of all thank the organizers of this event and also compliment the Chinese government for creating the enabling environment for such event to take place. Today, we are here at the 7th China-Africa Think Tanks Forum. The very opening of the Forum where we gathered, is timely because just in two months the world will witness the FOCAC Beijing Summit, the event will mark a new and splendid milestone of China Africa relation.

From my professional experience and point of view as a senior reporter in my country, regardless before or after my arrival in China, I have to say some Western countries including some Africans are of the view that China is recolonizing Africa, while some are also finding answer to the question of what actually is Africa giving back in return of all the olive branches that China has been extending to the African continent. This issue needs to be immediately and urgently faced and well taken care of. As here I am today, to share with you my faithful feeling against above comments --- Despite the fruitful and vivid relations between China and African nations as well as the good spread of nice and warm stories between the two parties , we, both the professional researchers and journalists with justice and truth-oriented heart, need to sit together to make a stronger voice, find a more effective public communication so as to build a better image on China Africa relation, which we have been engaged to fight for so many years.

Chinua Achebe, a renowned African writer, stated in his book “Things Fall Apart” that a toad does not walk in daylight for nothing there must be something chasing it. And also a river does not flow through the forest without falling down trees. For me, I strongly believe in order to answer to some of these questions that are asked by our brothers and sisters in the African continent, we must need a stronger voice and effective public communication. Therefore, I have decided to title my speech titled as Stronger voice, more effective public communication for better image-building on China Africa relation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Western media reports about both China and Africa have not been appealing to the audience of both parties. These reports have described Africa, a place we are all proud to call home, as a continent of disease, black magic, war, poverty, among other names from the Economist to the Times, from the end of Cold War to the dawn of new millennium. On the other hand, China has been referring to as a country of dictatorship, which does not respect basic human rights and press freedom, a place for the manufacturing of fake and substandard products, among other names. During the past decades, it seems the ties of the Mount of Kilimanjaro and the Great Wall have been suffered from groundless rumour and bad calumny even though numbers of our African nations’ leaders and thousands of African people declared the truth and reality.

Nevertheless, our real stories must be told by ourselves and we should prepare to support each other in that drive. We are here today to discuss and provide information and ideas, in the frame of this Think Tank Forum, to three important subjects namely:

(1) China-African relations on the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up

(2) China and African countries’ independent exploration of development path: experience and inspiration

(3) Think tank and media cooperation for a stronger voice and more effective public communication.

It is no secret that a new diction has been added to public diplomacy platform in both China and Africa, which is FOCAC-it, means the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). It is very impossible for Chinese and African government officials to make statements relating to the bilateral or multilateral relations with both the continent of Africa and the People’s Republic of China, without mentioning FOCAC and so is the media of both parties. Established in October 2000 as an official forum to strengthen the relationship, FOCAC summits have been held in both China in 2006 and Africa in 2015 respectively.

Mr. Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am coming from a country called Sierra Leone, in Western Africa, where the Chinese presence is highly felt. I would like to use this opportunity to inform or remind the participants of this year’s event that Sierra Leone, including other African countries, played a great role in helping China to be recognized in the United Nations. In 1971, many western countries were supporting Taiwan to be fully recognized as a country and member of the United Nations but Sierra Leone’s then External Affairs Minister, Solomon A.J Pratt, including other Africans voted in favour of the People’s Republic of China. Today, China is not only a member state of the United Nations but one of the permanent members of its Security Council. This has shown you that our relationship has travelled thousands of kilometers to be where it is today.