Participants of the 2026 China-Africa Friendship Tour – Shandong Meets Africa Cultural Gala pose for a group photo with performers in Jinan, Shandong Province, on 4 August 

China and Africa reaffirmed their commitment to deepening people-to-people exchanges as the 2026 China-Africa Friendship Tour – Shandong Meets Africa Cultural Gala opened in Jinan, Shandong Province, bringing together officials, scholars, business representatives and youth leaders to strengthen cultural exchanges and development cooperation. 

Held from 4 to 7 August, the event features cultural performances, business dialogues and exchange activities in the cities of Jinan, Weifang and Yantai in the province. It is one of Shandong's flagship events for the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. 

Addressing the opening ceremony, Lin Wu, secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, said the province places great importance on cooperation and exchanges with Africa. Shandong has established 57 sister-city and sister-province partnerships with local governments in 27 African countries and supported the establishment of 25 Confucius Institutes and other educational and cultural institutions across the continent. Medical teams dispatched by the province to Tanzania and Seychelles have treated about 20 million patients. 

Economic ties between Shandong and Africa have also continued to strengthen. Trade reached more than 299 billion yuan ($44.3 billion) in 2025, an increase of 38.6 percent year on year, while imports from Africa grew by 48.9 percent. Investment has also expanded steadily, with more Shandong enterprises increasing their presence across African markets. 

Lin said Shandong stands ready to deepen cultural exchanges with Africa and expand cooperation in areas including equipment manufacturing, modern agriculture, textiles and green energy. He also pledged to strengthen exchanges on governance, particularly in rural revitalisation and ecological conservation, as China and Africa continue exploring their respective paths to modernisation. 

African visitors view an art exhibition during the 2026 China-Africa Friendship Tour – Shandong Meets Africa Cultural Gala in Jinan, Shandong Province, on 4 August 

Sun Xueqing, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said the event aims to promote mutual understanding and practical cooperation between China and Africa. Describing Shandong as one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilisation, he said the event provides an important platform for dialogue among civilisations and will bring the peoples of China and Africa even closer together. 

Sun added that delivering tangible benefits to the people is a cornerstone of China-Africa cooperation, highlighting China's zero-tariff policy as an important measure to expand African exports to China. He also underscored the vital role of young people in carrying forward China-Africa friendship and called for more mechanisms and platforms to promote youth exchanges. 

Somalia’s Ambassador to China Hodan Osman Abdi said Somalia and Shandong share many similarities, including long coastlines, rich cultural heritage and outward-looking economies. These common strengths, she said, create broad opportunities for cooperation in areas such as the marine economy, fisheries, aquatic product processing and port development. 

Calling for closer cooperation between Shandong and Africa, she urged both sides to expand educational exchanges to cultivate talent for future economic and trade collaboration. She also encouraged them to leverage their rich cultural heritage to deepen cooperation in culture and tourism. Greater collaboration in the media and arts, she said, would help bridge information gaps, enhance mutual understanding and create a more favourable public environment for China-Africa cooperation. 

At the opening ceremony, Shandong also announced 10 cultural cooperation programmes to mark the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. The initiatives cover a broad range of areas, including artistic exchanges, tourism cooperation, joint museum exhibitions, archaeological collaboration, and a dialogue between Taishan Mountain and Table Mountain.