Interview: FOCAC summit puts China-DRC relations at "promising new juncture": ambassador

KINSHASA, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming summit for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), scheduled for early September in Beijing, is bound to put the relations between China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at a "promising new juncture," said Zhao Bin, Chinese ambassador to the DRC, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Over the past year, China and the DRC have seen remarkable progress in their relationship, marked notably by DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo's state visit to China in May 2023, which led to the upgrading of the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, said Zhao.

The upgrading reflects strengthened political trust, enhanced practical cooperation, and increased people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries, he said.

Both countries have shown strong mutual support on international issues, resulting from the solid political trust between the two countries, said Zhao.

Zhao said that China has been consistently supporting fairness and justice regarding the situation in the eastern DRC and actively promoting dialogue. Also, the DRC has steadfastly upheld the one-China principle, and the collaboration extends to multilateral affairs where the two countries jointly advocate for the interests of developing countries, said Zhao.

Regarding China-DRC practical cooperation, Zhao said that the two countries have aligned respective development strategies and are working together on various high-level projects under the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative.

The Chinese ambassador further said the increasingly frequent and impactful cultural and people-to-people exchanges have become one of the highlights of the bilateral relations.

The Global Civilization Initiative has fostered numerous cultural activities, including the recently launched "Chinese Film Week" and training opportunities for Congolese youth, he said.

The Central African Cultural and Arts Center, whose construction has just finished, has become a new symbol of China-DRC friendly cooperation and will serve as an important platform for strengthening China-DRC and China-Africa cultural exchanges, said Zhao.

The China-DRC relationship is at "a promising new juncture" and the FOCAC Summit in Beijing, where Chinese and African leaders will reach new consensus and break new ground in China-Africa cooperation, is bound to set new directions for the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, said Zhao.