On August 1st , it was the fourth day of the African Ambassador's visit to Yan'an which organized by the China-Africa Institute.
In the morning, the 11th Ambassador Lecture "Achievements and Significance of Yan'an Poverty Elimination " was successfully held in Yan'an. This Lecture invited H.E. Mr. Elia George Kaiyamo, Ambassador of Namibia to China, H.E. Mr. Awale Ali Kullane, Ambassador of Somalia to China and Mr. Liu Guijin, First Special Representative of the Chinese Government on African Affairs, as the main speakers, and H.E. Mr. Martin Chedondo, Ambassador of Zimbabwe to China and Mr. Bosco Justin Shio, International student from Tanzania in Northwest A&F University were the commentators. Prof. Li Xinfeng, executive president of the CAI, attended the Lecture and delivered an opening remarks. Prof. Wang Xiaoming, vice president of the CAI presided over the Lecture.
H.E. Mr. Elia George Kaiyamo
H.E. Mr. Elia George Kaiyamo, Ambassador of Namibia to China, pointed out in his speech that It is very meaningful to come to Yan'an, the birthplace of the people’s revolution, on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The CPC’s governance capacity is strong theoretically, intellectually, ideologically and has great implementation ability. It united and led the Chinese people to achieve great poverty reduction achievements. Namibia can learn from the Chinese experience, particularly in poverty alleviation strategies; as well as, setting up special economic zones in order to concentrate resources and provide policy incentives to obtain first-mover advantages. At the same time, Africa is endowed with 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, with potential to unlock trillions through investments in the agribusiness. The Africa Continental Free Trade Area has been officially put into operation. The FOCAC has achieved deeper China-Africa cooperation in economic, social and environmental aspects. Africa and China share a long history, and it is a well-known fact that things improve with the improvement of the foundation on which they depend on. Africa and China can borrow from this wisdom to improve future cooperation. China with its large population, greater purchasing power and a growing middle class can benefit from Africa’s development, and Africa too can benefit from China’s big market and prosperity through the trade of high quality goods. China has opened up to the world and is sharing its prosperity, experience, expertise and technological know-how to assist other nations to achieve their own respective development plans. Through mutual exchanges and learning, China and Africa will jointly find solutions for future development in innovative ways and build a more inclusive society.
H.E. Mr. Awale Ali Kullane
H.E. Mr. Awale Ali Kullane, Ambassador of Somalia to China, stated with a thoughtful African Proverb called “If you make friends with the boatman in the dry season, you will be the first to cross when the rains come, and the tide is high.” He combed the historical origins of China-Somali exchanges and believed that China has always been a close partner of Somalia. China has completed one of the most ambitious poverty alleviation programs and actively helping smaller economies stand up on their feet. China’s success in eradicating extreme poverty is founded on three powerful principles: CPC leadership, General Secretary Xi’s commitment, and CPC mobilization. China's achievements in poverty elimination become a role model for all the world’s developing countries. As developing countries from Asia and Africa romanticize China’s dream growth and seek to learn from it to help their people languished in poverty, some lessons could surely be realized. The world we live in today is changing at a breakneck pace and is more connected than ever. Today’s Somalia is a country with an encouraging business environment, vast investment opportunities for foreigners, and an excellent potential for economic growth. In addition, Somalia has a superior geo-strategic location and a large number of young people have broad prospects for development in the future. The friendship between China and Somalia has lasted for 600 years. The two sides can cooperate and develop together in more areas, such as digital economy, climate change, and infrastructure. At last, he emphasized that China and Somalia have strong and firm confidence in development issues, which is an important guarantee for the success of future cooperation.
Liu Guijin
Ambassador Liu Guijin used He Jingzhi's poem "Return to Yan'an" as an introduction and pointed out that Yan'an has an irreplaceable position in Chinese revolution and China's development process. The Yan'an spirit has inspired the CPC and the Chinese people to seek happiness and development. He said that in the past few days of visiting and researching in Yan'an, he felt more deeply for the changes and development of Yan'an. There are many experiences in China's comprehensive victory in fighting against poverty. First is the leadership of the CPC, the second is the superiority of China's socialist system, the third is policy adaptation and pertinence, and the fourth is to inspire people's confidence in eliminating poverty. Ambassador Liu Guijin has a profound and unique African plot. He hated the destruction that Western colonists brought to Africa's development, and was full of tolerance for Africa. He would be sincerely happy to see the development of Africa. He emphasized that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future. China is very willing to share its experience with Africa, but it must be based on the specific conditions of African countries and will never impose China's development model on Africa. China-Africa cooperation must be mutually beneficial and win-win to achieve sustainable development. Meanwhile everything is mutual, China also needs to learn from Africa and exchange relevant development experience. He mentioned that the ambassador of Mauritius to China shared his country’s experience in poverty reduction in yesterday’s symposium. A very important point is long-term peace and stability. This is also one of the important magic weapons for China’s comprehensive victory in poverty elimination. It properly handle the relationship between reform, development and stability. China is different from Western countries. He sincerely hope that Africa will achieve tangible development, and that China-Africa cooperation and friendship will be stable and far-reaching.
H.E. Mr. Martin Cedondo
In his comments, the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to China, H.E. Mr. Martin Cedondo, praised the three speakers for their impressive insights. He said that Yan'an's poverty elimination and spirit are obvious to all, which is of great significance to China and the world. Countries in the world that are committed to poverty alleviation need to learn the Yan'an spirit, which is also what African countries need. This spirit advocates independence and gets rid of poverty on its own. China also encountered Western colonial oppression in modern history, and finally overcame various difficulties and achieved victory. From the Opium War to reform and opening up, to the recent fight against the pandemic, the Chinese nation has been persevering. We have learned a lot from China’s experiences. The great Chinese dream is inspired by the great Yan'an spirit. At present, China is moving towards the second centenary goal. I have firm confidence in this. Africa’s Agenda 2063 originated from the goals set by the OAU in 1963. It is hoped that Africa will get rid of outside interference and achieve independent development. This is the beautiful vision of the martyrs of the African revolution, and now Africa should regain this spirit and vision. Mr. Cedondo believes that China’s successful experience can be used for reference by African countries in four aspects: First, the development goals of African countries should be planned, but all of this requires aspiring governments and strong and wise leaders who can lead the people to put it into practice at all levels. The second is to establish an internal cooperation and coordination mechanism in Africa to give full play to the joint efforts of various governments to promote the development of the continent. The third is to establish a civil-oriented legal and institutional system. The fourth is to give full play to the role of innovation and human resources. China has given Zimbabwe important help and support in its long history, and China's cooperation with Africa has been stigmatized by the West for many times. It is hoped that the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Africa can take a new step forward. Finally, Mr. Cedondo highly praised the CAI as a bridge for cultural exchanges and for China-Africa friendship. He sincerely hopes that more similar activities will be held in the future to promote learning, sharing and development between China and Africa.
Mr. Bosco Justin Shio
The international student Mr. Bosco Justin Shio, from Tanzania in Northwest A&F University believed that in the process of Yan'an revolution, development and poverty elimination, the most important point is to seek truth from facts. At the same time, a strong leadership team and the unanimity of the people are also vital to achieving the goal of poverty alleviation. There are many ways and means to get rid of poverty. For example, unifying and popularizing language can also be used as the tool to eliminate poverty. He said that through several days of research and study, poverty elimination is not a fixed model, every country can come out with its own model on how to eliminate poverty. However, we must learn from each other, but we are advised to learn from other on how they deal with poverty elimination, so fellow African, the challenge is on us, we can learn a lot from our good friend China, but we must adjust and adapt according to our own situation.
Lecture venue
Prof. Li Xinfeng stressed that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. China's achievements in poverty alleviation have contributed Chinese solutions and wisdom to the global cause of poverty reduction. While committed to eradicating its own poverty, China has been actively engaged in South-South cooperation and provided great assistance and support to African countries and other developing countries. China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future. We hope we can join hands together and make unremitting efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind that is free from poverty and has a common development. The poverty alleviation in Yan’an is a microcosm of China’s historic achievements in that great cause, an epitome of China’s targeted poverty alleviation, and a representative of China’s green poverty alleviation, which signals a rejuvenation of China’s revolutionary bases. The practice of poverty alleviation in Yan’an has set an excellent example for other countries in the world, and has written a glorious page for the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Yan’an had a glorious past, and will definitely have a better future. On the way to rural revitalization, a Red, humanistic, ecological and attractive Yan’an is projecting her beauty and charm across the world!
Finally, Prof. Wang Xiaoming made a concluding speech. She used an African proverb named “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” to express her gratitude to the Shaanxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, Xi’an FanYi University and Interpretation and all participants in the conference. She sincerely hopes to seek common development with African countries and pursue a bright future.
Group photo of the volunteer team and the ambassador
More than 60 experts and scholars from CAI, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an International Studies University, Shanghai Normal University and other think tanks, universities and related institutions attended the Lecture.