On November 7, the 1st China-Africa Future Leaders' Dialogue, hosted by the CPAFFC and co-organized by the Chinese-African People’s Friendship Association and Jinhua Government, was held online. Lin Songtian, Chairman of CPAFFC; Rahamtalla M. Osman, representative of the ambassadors in China from the African Union; and Xing Zhihong, mayor of Jinhua, delivered speeches. Opened by Lin Yi, vice chairman of CPAFFC, the conference saw the presence of representatives of the Department of African Affairs at MOFA and over 300 youth representatives from China and 48 African countries. Deputy mayor Shao Guoqiang and secretary general Chu Huibin presented.

Lin Songtian presented historical achievements accomplished by the Chinese people under the firm leadership of the Communist Party of China. Lin indicated that Africa and China form a community of shared destiny and interests, including maintaining world peace and guaranteeing justice within the major process of promoting mutual development. He looks forward to seeing an active dialogue among future leaders, focusing on cooperation in the new era, and contributing on pushing forward the China-Africa friendship, promoting win-win cooperation and common development to lead the China-Africa community of shared destiny and interests. It is also hoped that young generations from China and Africa will uphold common human values, aiming at shared dialogues, contributions, and benefits, withstanding equality and mutual learning, and participating in the revitalization of their homelands while cultivating China-Africa friendship.

Mr. Osman said that China has always supported the economic, social, and cultural development of Africa, especially China’s achievements and experience are of great encouragement for many African countries. Both China and Africa share common positions and interests in many areas. The in-depth cooperation between the two countries will produce synergies between China’s long-term goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063. It is hoped that Chinese and African youths will actively promote the unity and cooperation of both sides in more fields, work together for win-win cooperation, and make greater contributions toward the building of a shared future for the China-Africa community.

Xing Zhihong commented that Jinhua’s economic and trade exchanges with African countries are very frequent and non-governmental cultural exchanges are very active. In 2020, Jinhua’s import and export trade with African countries reached 79.78 bn RMB, and ZJNU served many African government officials, and provided experts, teachers, and young students for educational and training projects. Since the pandemic outbreak, Jinhua and African countries have actively carried out international anti-pandemic exchanges, writing a new chapter in the mutual assistance between China and Africa. Jinhua is strengthening cooperation with African countries in the fields of industry, trade, environmental protection, medical care, education, and people-to-people exchanges, which promotes the construction of a demonstration zone for China-Africa economic, trade, and cultural cooperation and exchanges in China. In the near future, Jinhua will hold the China-Africa Cultural Cooperation Exchange Week and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Forum to build a platform for cooperation for people from all walks of life. Mayor Xing invited young generations from China and Africa to visit Jinhua to share cooperation opportunities and create a better future.

During the event, Chinese and African youths exchanged views on topics such as “Youth Vision: The World Significance of China’s Development,” “Youth Power: Helping China-Africa Cooperation for Win-Win and Common Development,” “Youth Mission: Building a China-Africa Community of Shared Future”. In addition, the Joint Declaration of the 1st China-Africa Future Leaders’ Dialogue was issued.