On July 6, 2021, the 9th Ambassador Lecture was held in Beijing, which was co-organized by the China-Africa Institute (CAI) and the Xinjiang Think Tank of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and supported by the China-Africa Friendship Group of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The lecture was themed on "Poverty Alleviation Achievements of Xinjiang in the Eyes of African Ambassadors to China." Mr. António Embaló, ambassador of Guinea-Bissau to China, and Mr. Martin Chedondo, ambassador of Zimbabwe to China, were invited to deliver keynote speeches. Mr. Guo Jun, deputy secretary-general of the National Committee of the CPPCC and deputy head of the China-Africa Friendship Group, and Professor Wang Linggui, vice president of CASS and president of the CAI attended the lecture and delivered opening remarks. Professor Li Xinfeng, executive president of the CAI and director-general of the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of CASS, presided over the lecture, and Professor Wang Lincong, vice president of the CAI, made a summary of the lecture. Professor Zhou Yunfan and Professor Wang Xiaoming, vice presidents of the CAI, attended the lecture. More than 90 scholars from the CAI and Xinjiang Think Tank of CASS participated in the lecture.
Guo Jun
In his opening remarks, Guo Jun indicated that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC). China, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the world's population, has completely eradicated absolute poverty and made significant contributions to the development of global poverty reduction and the progress of the mankind. Xinjiang's achievements in poverty alleviation are part of the achievements of China’s fight against poverty. China is a unified multi-ethnic country, and the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are important members of the big family of the Chinese nation. The fate of Xinjiang has always been closely connected with that of the motherland and the Chinese nation. At present, Xinjiang’s economic growth continues to increase, people's living conditions are significantly improved, the fight against poverty gained crucial decisive achievements, and the central government’s support and the “pairing assistance” program in Xinjiang are enhanced. Xinjiang is now at its best period of prosperity and development in history with a social stability. People are living and working in peace and contentment, and all ethnic groups are closely united like pomegranate seeds. This is the result of the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, the hard work of the CPC, the people of the whole country, and the wisdom and efforts of more than 25 million people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.
Wang Linggui
Wang Linggui pointed out in the opening remarks that under the strong leadership of the CPC, Xinjiang has achieved great stability, great development and great prosperity: Firstly, historical achievements have been made in the economic development; secondly, absolute poverty has been completely eradicated; thirdly, the human rights have achieved a continuous progress; and lastly, remarkable results have been achieved in the precautionary anti-terrorism and de-radicalization. He emphasized that in the past five years, Xinjiang has zero violent or terrorist incidence and the social order has been steadily improved. Xinjiang’s achievements are a universally recognized fact.
Wang Linggui elaborated that people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have joined the well-off society with all the Chinese people. Xinjiang's development is the epitome of China's development. The ethnic unity of Xinjiang is the representative of the ethnic unity of China. The future of Xinjiang will surely be closely connected with the realization of the "Chinese Dream" of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Anti-China forces of Western countries created the "Xinjiang issue" aiming to interfere in China's internal affairs, undermine China’s stability and curb China's development. The Chinese government's position and policies on Xinjiang-related affairs are consistent and clear. Just as President Xi Jinping has pointed out, China and African countries are a community with a shared future. China and African countries have always stood on the side of fairness and justice, jointly safeguarding international fairness and justice, the common interests and development rights of developing countries. We hope that China and Africa and other experts and scholars concerned about the China-Africa friendship will make full use of the CAI as a platform to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, carry out in-depth joint research on common issues between China and Africa, promote the sound and stable development of the China-African relations, and build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.
António Embaló
In the keynote speech, António Embaló said that in the past few years, Xinjiang has achieved unprecedented achievements in economic and social development and improvement of people's livelihood. “At the end of May this year, more than 30 foreign ambassadors and diplomats to China visited Urumqi, Aksu and Kashgar in Xinjiang, and witnessed the economic prosperity and people’s happiness in Xinjiang." António Embaló indicated that all the ambassadors and diplomats spoke highly of the Chinese government's unremitting efforts to fight terrorism and radicalization in Xinjiang. The Chinese government carried out the educational training programs in Xinjiang which have effectively curbed the frequent occurrence of terrorist activities and eliminated the conditions for the origin and spread of terrorism and radicalization. Now Xinjiang is embracing great changes. In the past five years, zero terrorist incidence has occurred in Xinjiang, the economy has developed steadily and the people have completely got rid of absolute poverty. From 2014 to 2019, the per capita disposable income of residents in Xinjiang has increased by 9.1% annually. Xinjiang cotton has already formed a large-scale mechanization production and implemented the operation mode of "cooperatives + farmers," which is heading to an efficient, automatic and intelligent operation. So there is no so-called "forced labor" in Xinjiang. Anti-China forces’ accusations on Xinjiang’s “forced labor” are not the real fact. Xinjiang affairs is China's internal affairs. The key to deal with Xinjiang affairs is to eradicate the activities of terrorism and radicalization, rather than the so-called human rights issues, ethnic conflicts or religious disorders coined by the Western countries. There is no ground for the Western countries to hype up the “Xinjiang issues” without any facts, accuse of and smear the Chinese government without any reason.
Martin Chedondo
Martin Chedondo emphasized that the creation of “Xinjiang issues” is a critical matter that cannot be taken in isolation from the same smear campaign against China in relation to the unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations of human rights violations in Hong Kong and Tibet. The essence of China’s first centennial goal “to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects which has since been achieved” expresses China’s desire to ensure that its development improves the lives of all its people, particularly those who are poor. What we are witnessing is a tactic by China’s detractors to derail it from its development path and the intended boycotts and suspension of trade in Xinjiang cotton and solar products from international markets are the same double standards set by the Western countries. However, it cannot ignore the stubborn fact that China has eliminated poverty ten years ahead of the UN prescribed target of 2030. Xinjiang affairs are China's internal affairs, and the Chinese government has the right to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Every government has an inalienable right and responsibility to defend and protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity and to maintain peace and security within its borders. In recent years, the anti-Chinese media reports and wild allegations by some Western countries of Chinese human rights violations in Xinjiang, which have recently escalated to preposterous accusations of genocide. No one can dispute that the Chinese government was successful in its de-radicalization efforts and the fight against terrorism in Xinjiang, and neither can there be any credible denial on the clear evidence of a nexus between the elements of high radicalization and increased anti-government violence and an escalation of acts of terror all which led to the appropriate response by the Chinese authorities.
In the comment session, Mr. Rahamtalla Osman, the African Union (AU) representative to China, Mr. Simon Indongo, first secretary of the Embassy of Namibia to China, and Professor Xu Jianying, director of the Xinjiang Research Division at the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies of CASS and deputy director of the Xinjiang Think Tank of CASS, commented on the two ambassadors' keynote speeches.
Rahamtalla Osman
Rahamtalla Osman said that the prosperity and stability of Xinjiang are inseparable from the implementation of the Chinese government's targeted poverty alleviation project. As Chairman Mao Zedong said, “no investigation, no right to speak.” During his two visits to Xinjiang, Osman witnessed that China's targeted poverty alleviation project assisted Xinjiang people out of poverty, and African countries are eager to learn from China's experience in poverty alleviation. People in poor areas are vulnerable to radicalization and easier to be lured to involve in terrorist violence. “Western countries’ distorted narration of Xinjiang reflects their intentions to counterbalance and curb China's development." Osman believed that China's path to poverty alleviation has not only benefited the Chinese people, but also made outstanding contributions to the world’s poverty reduction. The China-Africa friendship has a long history. In the future, China and Africa will jointly promote bilateral cooperation under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
Simon Indongo
Simon Indongo pointed out that China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has achieved remarkable progress in poverty alleviation since 2012, thanks to the high importance attached by the central government on poverty reduction. As a core region of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang enjoys geographical advantages and rich resources, which lays a solid foundation for development. Based on the actual conditions in the autonomous region, the Chinese government tailored special policies to develop industries there, taking industrial development and employment as a critical part of the poverty alleviation efforts, and also made concerted efforts to advance relocation, education, infrastructure and ecology in the region and its border areas. China 's poverty alleviation measures not only benefited Xinjiang, but also benefited every Chinese people. We hope that African countries can further benefit from the Chinese successful experience in combating and eradicating absolute and extreme poverty.
Xu Jianying
Xu Jianying stressed that the African ambassadors and diplomats’ visit to Xinjiang fully reflects the profound China-Africa friendship, and more objectively and rationally depicts a real, objective, prosperous and stable image of Xinjiang. The great achievements of poverty alleviation in Xinjiang in recent years are not only demonstrated in the statistics of economic growth, but also shown on the happy faces of Xinjiang people. Xinjiang's infrastructure construction, education reforms, the “pairing assistance” program in Xinjiang and the policy of ethnic women and children have great changes. Threaten by terrorism, separatism and radicalization, Xinjiang used to lag behind other places in China in terms of economic development. However, Xinjiang now achieve a sustained, rapid and healthy economic development. All ethnic groups in Xinjiang are now living and working in peace and contentment, and enjoying their happy and harmonious life.
lecture venue
During the Q&A session, Dr. Liu Zhijia, postdoctor of the Xinjiang Research Division at the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies of CASS, Dr. Deng Yanting, deputy director of the Security Research Division, Professor Wu Chuanhua, director of the Editorial Department of the Journal of China African Studies interacted with the two African ambassadors on topics of how to let the world better understand the real Xinjiang, which poverty alleviation measure of China is enlightening for the African continent, how Chinese and African think tanks to enhance people-to-people exchanges in consolidating the China-Africa traditional friendship and promoting the China-African relations towards a brighter future, and how China and African countries join hands to knock down the Western countries’ lies.
Wang Lincong
Wang Lincong summarized that the two African ambassadors showed a vivid, stable and harmonious Xinjiang to the audience with vivid examples and robust data. Many African ambassadors and diplomats to China have visited Xinjiang. Their objective, real and profound narrations of Xinjiang reflect their rational analysis as observers and the foresight as politicians, which definitely contributes African wisdom and thoughts to the world for better understanding the real Xinjiang and the real China. Through this lecture, we have reached consensus as follows: First of all, the strong leadership of the CPC is the key for Xinjiang’s success of poverty alleviation; secondly, the people-oriented poverty alleviation is the essence; thirdly, a stable and prosperous Xinjiang is a stubborn fact; fourthly, the China-African relations are strategic, and both China and African countries have similar historical experience and face to the same challenges of the Western countries’ hegemony; last but not the least, both Chinese and African academia and think tanks have the responsibility to seek new methods and ways to better tell the stories of China, the stories of Africa and stories of the China-Africa friendship.
Li Xinfeng
At the end of the lecture, Li Xinfeng said that Xinjiang has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the CPC and the Chinese government attached great importance to the governance of this region, and spared no efforts to guarantee the equality and common prosperity of all ethnic groups through setting up the Uygur Autonomous Region, implementing the West Development Strategy, and building the Silk Road Economic Belt. In China’s decades long unremitting efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects through poverty alleviation, Xinjiang was specially focused, especially the fours prefectures of Kashgar, Hotan, Aksu, and Kizilsu in southern Xinjiang were categorized as concentrated poverty-stricken areas which needed to be tackled with through national decisive fight against poverty in the 13th Five Year Plan. Thanks to the overall leadership of the CPC and collective efforts of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, by the end of 2020, the final 3 million local impoverished rural residents under current standards, 3,666 poor villages, 35 poverty-stricken counties were lifted out of poverty, which for the first time honored Xinjiang with an ultimate victory over absolute poverty in its history. African ambassadors to China shared their own stories about Xinjiang's poverty alleviation achievements can not only make the world see through Western countries’ lies regarding China, but also build a bridge for strengthening people-to-people exchanges between China and Africa which leads to a stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.
group photo