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The Second Africa-China Youth Leaders Forum is hosted in Beijing between June 18 and 19, 2012. China's top political adviser Jia Qinglin delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony (XINHUA) |
This summer marks a busy time in Beijing, particularly when it comes to China-Africa relations. Many forums and events have been organized to occur consecutively before the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is held this July in China's capital.
One of those important events is the Second Africa-China Youth Leaders Forum, which opened on June 18.
At the opening ceremony, China's top political adviser, Jia Qinglin, cited the history of China-Africa friendship while noting the important role youth exchange has played in relations between the two. He is of the belief that Chinese and African young people should maintain these traditional ties and further boost Sino-African affairs.
Jia also called on young people to jointly promote South-South cooperation, highlight the interests of developing countries, promote democratization in international relations, and make greater contributions to long-lasting peace and common prosperity in the world.
Of the more than 200 youth leaders at the forum, around 100 are from 38 African countries. The event is co-hosted by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) Party of Namibia, in addition to support from the Chinese Follow-up Committee of FOCAC.
During the two-day forum, young leaders from China and Africa discussed a broad range of topics related to Sino-African relations, including historical roots and traditional friendship, trade and investment opportunities and cooperation, and also people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
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Wang Gangyi, President & Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Beijing Review says media should play a positive role in China-Africa youth exchanges at the first plenary session (PHOTO BY LIU JIAN) |
At the first plenary session held on June 18, Chinese and African delegates discussed how Chinese and African young leaders can better inherit and carry forward traditional Africa-China relations into the future. Areas under discussion ranged from language learning and volunteering, to skills training and the role of media and press.
"Communication not only concerns what you want to say to others," says Wang Gangyi, President & Editor in Chief of the magazine Beijing Review. "It's two-way traffic." Wang believes the Chinese have much to learn from the African people, particularly when it comes to rich cultural heritage, higher awareness of the harmony between nature and man and desire for further development. He believes that media can play a positive role in this regard.
African participants at the forum – many who generally believe that China's media outlets are friendly to Africa – echo Wang's sentiments. "I hope the Chinese media can play a positive role in reversing the distorted image of Africa in the Western media," says Moroccan Erfiki Hicham, a Ph.D candidate at Peking University. "This will definitely help our [Chinese and African] young people better understand each other."
The first China-Africa Youth Leaders Forum was held May last year in Windhoek, Namibia's capital. During the event, the Windhoek Declaration was drawn up, which established that this particular forum would be a part of FOCAC, and responsibility for it would rotate between China and Africa, according to Cao Baijun, Director General of the Bureau of African Affairs at the International Department of the Central Committee of the CPC.
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The Second Africa-China Youth Leaders Forum is hosted in Beijing between June 18 and 19, 2012 (PHOTOS BY LIU JIAN) |
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The Second Africa-China Youth Leaders Forum is hosted in Beijing between June 18 and 19, 2012 (PHOTO BY LIU JIAN) |
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The Second Africa-China Youth Leaders Forum is hosted in Beijing between June 18 and 19, 2012 (PHOTO BY LIU JIAN) |
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The Second Africa-China Youth Leaders Forum is hosted in Beijing between June 18 and 19, 2012 (PHOTO BY LIU JIAN) | | 
