中文
By Xia Fangting
Intro: A senior African Union (AU) official called for an enhanced trilateral partnership between Africa, China and Arab states to help shape humanity's future in the 21st century at a seminar marking 70 years of China-Africa and China-Arab diplomatic relations in Beijing on June 17.
Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, the AU permanent representative to China, lauded President Xi Jinping's leadership, saying it is accelerating China's development while lending impetus to efforts to build a more just and equitable international order.
Bah said the partnership between China and Africa offers a model for international cooperation.
"The evolution of China-Africa relations demonstrates what is possible when partnerships are built on sovereign equality, non-interference, mutual benefit and respect for the development choices of nations," he said.
Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, permanent representative of the African Union to China, speaks at a seminar marking 70 years of China-Africa and China-Arab diplomatic relations in Beijing, June 17, 2026. [Photo by Xia Fangting/Chinadiplomacy.org.cn]
He also emphasized the transformative role of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
"FOCAC transformed longstanding friendship into an organized, results-oriented framework for collective dialogue and practical cooperation," Bah said. "Through FOCAC, commitments are increasingly being translated into tangible outcomes across infrastructure, transport connectivity, energy, agriculture, public health, science and technology, education, skills development and human-capital formation. These areas are not peripheral to Africa's development."
Addressing the need for Africa and China to jointly shape global change, Bah stated, "The world is undergoing profound geopolitical, economic, technological and environmental change, and no region or single country can navigate these transformations alone. Africa and China must therefore use their partnership not only to respond to change, but to help shape it."
This requires stronger coordination in multilateral institutions, greater support for the legitimate aspirations of the Global South, the reform of global governance structures and an unwavering commitment to an international order anchored on the United Nations Charter, international law, sovereignty and the peaceful settlement of disputes, he added.
The seminar, titled "70 Years of China-Africa and China-Arab Diplomatic Relations: Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future," was co-organized by the Department of African Affairs and the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, and the China Institute of International Studies.
It brought together approximately 200 participants, including ambassadors and diplomats from African and Arab states, as well as scholars and experts.
Participants pose for a group photo at a seminar marking 70 years of China-Africa and China-Arab diplomatic relations in Beijing, June 17, 2026. [Photo/Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China]
