China joins Africa Day, opposes interference in Africa
As Africa celebrated its 60th anniversary on May 25, China joined the African community in its Capital Beijing where the country “strongly” opposed external interference in the internal affairs of African countries.
The event was attended by ambassadors that are in China representing their respective African countries.
They included Malawi’s ambassador to China, Allan Chimtedza.
In his speech, the People’s Republic of China Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, also appreciated Africa’s commitment to adjust its position toward the One China principle.
Thus, he commended the mutual support in respecting each other’s sovereignty, development and dignity.
“[China] opposes attempts to stir up confrontation and conflicts in Africa.
“We support Africa in meeting the security developments and governance challenges in its own way and we will promote the outlook of peace and development in the Horn of Africa,” Qin said.
He expressed China’s wish to share all its experience in the Chinese path to modernisation and supporting Africa in following independence and distinct path of development.
He said China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for 40 consecutive years, built over 10,000 kilometres of railway in Africa, nearly 100 kilometres of railway airports, bridges and power plants.
Permanent Representative of the African Union (AU) to China, Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman said the celebration of the African Day meant celebrating the “creative genius” of the founding fathers of the continent.
“This venture, to stand the test of time, had to be based on solid shared values, the most fundamental of which was embodied in the collective quest for political freedom, peace and prosperity as an essential prerequisite for development,” he said.
On May 25 1963, the Organisation of African Unity, now AU, was formed in Addis Ababa and the Africa Day is meant to celebrate the birth of the union.
Mathews Kasanda is a journalist who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from University of Malawi (The Polytechnic).
In 2015, Media Institute of Southern Africa awarded him the Best Print Media Education Journalist of the Year accolade.
He joined Times Group Newsroom in September 2019.
