As the main contact platform between the world's second largest economy and 55 countries in Africa, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Focac) will open in Dakar, Senegal on November 29, 2021. Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech in Beijing via video. Zimbabwe is expected to take this opportunity to reach a new economic agreement with China.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dr. Frederick Shava, will lead the Zimbabwe delegation to the meeting. The forum will last two days and will close on November 30, 2021.

Since the first summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in 2000, Zimbabwe has reached several multi-billion-dollar agreements at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2021 will point out the direction of China-Africa relations in the next three years.

In an interview with the Sunday Post, Livit Mugejo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe, said that the China-Africa Cooperation Forum provides a huge opportunity for Zimbabwe to further strengthen the strong relationship between Zimbabwe and China.

"Zimbabwe has benefited from several projects directly generated by the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, including the Hwange Thermal Power Station Expansion Project, the Kariba South Bank Hydropower Expansion Project, the Victoria Falls City Airport Project, and the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport expansion project. Project and the new parliament building project which is still under construction."

"China is still a strategic partner in Zimbabwe's health sector. China has donated the new crown vaccine to Zimbabwe, rebuilt the Wilkins Hospital for Infectious Diseases, and built the Mahasekwa Clinic."

Mugejo said that the China-Africa Cooperation Forum will provide a platform to review the progress of the China-Zimbabwe comprehensive strategic partnership. He said: "You may have noticed that China-Zimbabwe relations have been upgraded from an all-weather friend to a strategic partnership. Therefore, this summit provides an opportunity for Zimbabwe to open up new areas of cooperation and strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries."

"These projects include establishing synergies for exporting Zimbabwean citrus fruits to China, cooperation on water harvesting and irrigation projects that will benefit small-scale farmers, and cooperation on clean coal thermal power generation and other renewable energy sources."

Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun said that the summit level of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is a landmark event that will further promote China-Africa cooperation. Ambassador Guo said that China and Zimbabwe have good relations and many projects are under development. This is another milestone in China-Africa cooperation, especially under the constraints of the global epidemic. Since its establishment in 2000, the China-Africa Cooperation Forum has strongly promoted mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Africa and deepened the friendship between China and Africa for generations.

On November 26, 2021, before the China-Africa Cooperation Forum was held, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing that this year’s meeting will evaluate the signing of the last China-Africa Cooperation Forum (Focac) held in Beijing in 2018. The progress of the agreement. He stated that the summit aims to "deepen mutual trust between China and Africa and enhance pragmatic cooperation."

Zhao Lijian said: "This will be China's major diplomatic action against developing countries in 2021, and it will also be a grand meeting for the friendly family of China and Africa after the new crown pneumonia epidemic. This will bring more tangible cooperation results to the people of China and Africa. Promote the construction of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era."

Zhao Lijian revealed that the State Council Information Office of China issued a white paper entitled "China and Africa in a New Era: Equal Partnership" on the 24th, expounding the principles of China's Africa policy proposed by President Xi Jinping. Keywords: One Belt One Road, One Belt One Road News, One Belt One Road Project, Overseas Projects

When talking about the white paper, Zhao Lijian said: “The white paper records the all-round, cross-field, and multi-dimensional cooperation between China and Africa with sufficient facts and data, and records the great course of mutual support and help between the people of China and Africa in the new era.” Zhao Lijian Said when talking about the white paper.Editor/XuNing