New Era of China’s Development: Broader Prospects for China-Eritrea Friendly Relations

 Mr. Yang Zigang, Chinese Ambassador to Eritrea 

By Yang Zigang, Chinese Ambassador to Eritrea 

From October 18th to 24th, the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was successfully convened in Beijing.

The Congress is of great significance as it was held during the decisive stage in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and at a critical moment as socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. The congress reviewed the work of the Party over the past five years, outlined new plans for China’s future development, revised the constitution of the CPC, and elected new central leaders of the Party, with Mr. Xi Jinping being re-elected as the General Secretary.

President Isaias forwarded two congratulatory letters to General Secretary Xi Jinping, conveying His Excellency’s congratulations for the Congress and General Secretary Xi’s re-election respectively. Well informed through media broadcasts such as TV coverage, the Chinese people have deeply perceived the friendship of President Isaias, People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, the Eritrean government as well as its people.

General Secretary Xi pointed out in his report that during the past five years, under the leadership of the CPC, China has overcome disadvantageous external factors such as sluggish global economic recovery, frequent outbreaks of regional conflicts and disturbances as well as intensifying global issues, and has appropriately dealt with profound changes as China has entered a new normal in economic development. China has made great historic achievements in economic construction, deepening reform, democracy and law-based governance, ideological and cultural construction, ecological civilization and so on.

Over the past five years, the Chinese economy has steadily remained No.2 in the world, with its contribution rate to the world economic growth exceeding 30%. China took on a new look day by day and its comprehensive national strength has increased substantially. People’s lives have been constantly improving and decisive progress has been made in poverty alleviation, with over 60 million poverty stricken people being lifted out of poverty in a steady manner. Moreover, the ecological environment has also been greatly improved.

General Secretary Xi also pointed out that we would build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful by the middle of the 21st century. The Xi Jinping Thought of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era produced in the congress has become the guiding ideology of the CPC and will direct China to realize all the construction and development goals smoothly and make the Chinese dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese people come true.

The Chinese people’s dream is closely inter-connected with the dreams of different peoples from all the countries around the world. As the path, theories, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics keep on evolving, the approaches to modernization for developing countries such as African nations have been expanded. Those countries and peoples that hope to speed up the pace of development while preserving their own independence are provided with utterly new options. China has contributed its wisdom and solutions to the problems of the mankind.

China will unswervingly stick to the path of peaceful development and advocate for an open strategy of mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes. It will seek for an open, innovative, inclusive and reciprocal development prospects while promoting harmonious and all-embracing civilization exchanges. China will always serve as a promoter of the world peace, a contributor to global development as well as a vindicator of the international order.

The overall objective of major-country diplomacy with Chinese features in the new era is to advocate for present the world with a new modality of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, cooperation and win-win solutions, and to promote the building of a shared future of common destiny for mankind. It aims to foster a world that enjoys enduring peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, cleanness and beautifulness. In growing its relations with Africa, China will continue to stick to the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith while following the right approach to justice and interests, further strengthen solidarity and cooperation with the developing countries, increase assistance to developing countries, stand shoulder to shoulder with them in overcoming global challenges and ultimately propel common development.

China and Eritrea, the CPC and the PFDJ, and the peoples of our two countries enjoy solid traditional friendship. The two sides embrace a high level of mutual political trust, constantly expanded economic and trade cooperation and increased people-to-people and cultural exchanges. All the achievements have brought tangible benefits for the two peoples. China’s development has entered a new era, and this will definitely usher in new opportunities for enhancing China-Eritrea friendly cooperation with broader prospects.

In recent years, China-Eritrea exchanges and cooperation in extensive areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, education, energy and mining, medical care and capacity building have constantly achieved substantial progress. However, they have not reached a certain level to fulfill people’s expectations. We have to work harder to ensure that our friendly cooperation will develop on more platforms and at a higher level.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the China-Africa ‘Ten Cooperation Plans’ during the FoCAC Johannesburg Summit Meeting held in 2015, which aims to assist African countries to realize industrialization and agricultural modernization. The plans cover vast areas of China-Africa cooperation such as infrastructure, trade and investment and poverty alleviation. The “Belt and Road Initiative” proposed by President Xi in 2013 has become the largest and most open cooperation platform in the world through construction after several years’ construction. We are glad to see that more African partners have participated into this initiative. Eritrea is most welcome to take an active part in it to explore opportunities of cooperation and development since it enjoys such strategic and geographical advantages as being along the ‘Maritime Silk Road’. There are vast opportunities and limitless prospects for China-Eritrea pragmatic cooperation under the two frameworks of FoCAC and ‘Belt and Road’.

As socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, I have seen new development prospects for China-Eritrea friendly cooperation. We are ready to march on hand in hand with our Eritrean friends, to embrace a brighter future of our two countries.

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