ADDIS ABABA – Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Wednesday reiterated the AU's keen interest to further deepen the already strong and long-standing China-Africa partnership.
Moussa Faki Mahamat made the remarks as he received the letter of appointment from Hu Changchun, the new head of the Chinese Mission to the AU, at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, the Chinese Mission to the AU said in a statement.
During their meeting, the two sides held cordial and friendly talks on further deepening China-Africa relations.
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Mahamat, who spoke highly of the traditional friendship between China and Africa as well as the achievements of practical cooperation with the AU, termed the relations between Africa and China as the exemplar of the times.
The AU is ready to work closely with China to speed up the implementation of the outcomes of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and Belt and Road cooperation so as to bring more benefits to the African and Chinese peoples, he said.
Hu meanwhile acknowledged the AU's important role in leading Africa's integration, coordinating a united continental fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and tackling regional hotspot issues.
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China attaches great importance to developing its relations with the AU and is willing to deepen strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation between the two sides and push the China-AU relations to a new level, he said.