Remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit Opening Ceremony

5 September 2024

Your Excellency, Mr Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China,
Your Excellency, Mr Mohamed Ghazouani, Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania,
Your Excellency, Mr Bassirou Diomaye Faye, President of the Republic of Senegal and co-chair of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation,
Your Excellency, Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
Your Excellency, Mr Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, 
Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished delegates, 

I convey the warmest greetings of the government and people of South Africa to our hosts, the government and people of China.

We extend our deep gratitude to President Xi Jinping for the wonderful manner in which we have been received here in Beijing and for the warm hospitality that has been extended to us.

I thank President Xi and President Diomaye Faye, the co-chairs of FOCAC, for convening this Summit.

We meet today when the world is experiencing many challenges. 

War and conflict continue to cause great human suffering and instability in a number of places across the world.

Climate change is causing widespread devastation.

The world is falling behind in its efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The global contestation for critical minerals is fuelling geopolitical rivalry. 

These challenges affect all nations, but are often most severely felt in Africa.

Yet, amid these challenges, there is hope and opportunity.

Twenty-five years ago, President Nelson Mandela delivered a lecture at Peking University, in which he said: 

“Whenever the need or opportunity arises the peoples of the world reach out to one another in the name of a common humanity.”

This common humanity is what brings African countries and China together under the banner of FOCAC.

We are driven by a desire to achieve shared prosperity while recognising our individual developmental aspirations.

If we are to realise a sustainable future for Africa and China – and indeed the entire world – we must acknowledge the reality of the interdependence among our community of nations. 

If we are to build a future that is people-centred, development-orientated and inclusive, we need to work in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration.

China has a long history of friendship and solidarity with the people of Africa. 

Since this relationship was institutionalised through FOCAC in 2000, ties between China and Africa have continued to grow and deepen.

We welcome the proposal by President Xi Jinping to elevate China’s bilateral relations with African countries having diplomatic ties with China to the level of strategic relations. 

This fourth FOCAC Summit reflects the cooperative, comprehensive and intentional nature of our cooperation. 

This Summit reflects our shared desire for modernisation, development and progress on the African continent.

We believe that this shared desire is reflected in the ten partnership actions on modernisation to be taken by China and Africa, as announced by President Xi.

Through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the economies of Africa are being drawn closer together. 

We are pursuing projects that reach across national borders. 

We believe that FOCAC can play an important role as Africa works to build an integrated network of linkages between countries, within regions and across the continent.

We believe that FOCAC is a valuable forum to support the implementation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

In the name of our common humanity, we must work together to achieve the Africa we want. And we must work together to achieve the world we want. 

I thank you.

Issued b The Presidency, 5 September 2024