H.E. Mr. Gu Xiaojie
Ambassador of China to Ethiopia
(Nov. 22nd, 2010)
Your Excellency Dr. Neway Gebre-Ab, Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister and Director of Ethiopian Development Research Institute,
Your Excellency Amb. Liu Guijin, Special Representative of the Chinese Government for African Affairs,
Your Excellency Amb. Mahdi Ahmed, Director-General for Middle East, Asian & Oceanic Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Distinguished participants,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is such a pleasant challenge that the Chinese Embassy is organizing the seminar in collaboration with the Ethiopian International Institute for Peace and Development (EIIPD), which is one of the most prestigious think tanks in Addis Ababa. Please allow me, on behalf of the co-organizers and in my own name, to welcome you all, and special welcome and heartfelt thanks to H.E. Amb. Liu Guijin, Special Representative of the Chinese Government for African Affairs as well as the Chinese academics who have traveled all the way here to this 'politic and diplomatic capital of Africa'.
2010, the year of Peace and Security for Africa, witnesses more than a dozen African countries celebrating fifty years of independence. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Ethiopia, and ten years in existence of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Precisely for these events, this seminar has its special meaning.
The phrase 'China and Africa' is catching more eyes today than ever before. More than 179 million items of headlines can be searched on Google. Out of sheer curiosity, I once had a random online test by keying in the words "China Africa" respectively on the search engines of baidu.com, a major Chinese portal and the more universal yahoo.com. My findings: there are about 6,070,000 items from baidu whereas yahoo produces 44,600,000 results.
Interestingly, I also entered the same words on allafrica.com, and nothing much was displayed. I was told that 'you can search for several keywords, all of which must appear for a story to satisfy the search criteria'. My reading is that China and Africa and their interactions are getting a great deal of attention and interest, much more attention and interest beyond than in China and Africa, the two partners and stakeholders. Presumably then, this seminar has added value.
The establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Ethiopia forty years ago opened a new chapter in the history of bilateral relations. Since 1991 when the EPRDF took power and especially entering the new century, the all-round cooperative partnership between the two countries have been developing rapidly and smoothly, with mutual understanding and political trust deepening, cooperation expanding, and concrete and tangible results benefiting both countries and peoples. Let us ask what prospects this exemplary relationship holds for the future.
In the past ten years, FOCAC as an important mechanism for collective dialogue and effective cooperation between China and Africa, has been playing an ever increasing role. Its practice is unprecedented; its achievements undisputed, and its impact indelible. Let me pose a question to this seminar: how best can we make FOCAC grow in a robust, sustainable, and more beneficial manner.
Fellow participants,
Nowadays, people are talking about opportunities and challenges. This seminar is expected to give us thoughts, ideas and visions on what they are and how we go about them. I believe you will have open, candid and in-depth discussion and debate. I wish you interesting discussions and fruitful deliberations.
Thank you for your attention.
