Luanda - The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, arrived in Beijing on Sunday to represent the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, at the 9th Conference on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC-9), to be held from 2 to 7 September.
The FOCAC was established as a Mechanism for Consultation and Collective Dialogue, as well as representing a future-oriented step in cooperation between the parties, and an important model in the field of South-South cooperation, in search of common development.
Since the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and some countries on the African continent in 1950, cooperation between Africa and the Asian giant has witnessed a continuous evolution in the international arena.
China considers the African continent as a strategic partner, without whose contribution the growth rates of its economy could be much lower than those currently achieved.
China's official aid to Africa through the FOCAC is guaranteed through gains from China-Africa trade.
China periodically makes billions of dollars available to the development of projects in all sectors of economic and social life in African countries.
FOCAC is a forum that takes place in China or in an alternating African country. It was founded in October 2000, at the first Ministerial Conference in Beijing.
It aims to strengthen Sino-African economic cooperation and trade relations, to establish a new international order that better reflects the needs and interests of China and Africa.
The FOCAC meets every three years, and has already been held in Beijing (2000), Addis Ababa (2003), Beijing (2006), Sharm El-Sheik (2009), Beijing (2012), Johannesburg (2015) and Beijing (2018).
Each forum is the result of a three-year Action Plan between China and African countries.
The meetings are guided by five principles that embody the spirit of South-South Cooperation, equality and mutual benefit, diversity in form and content, emphasis on practical results, pursuit of common progress and amicable settlement of differences. VIC/DOJ
