Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning!
It is a great pleasure to meet with you again on “Face to Face with China”. Today’s theme is the state visit by President Bio to China which is just concluded the week before last. Through the video, I think you can have a panoramic picture of this visit and vividly feel the friendly and warm atmosphere of this visit.
This is really a very successful and productive visit. During the visit, President Xi Jinping held talks with President Bio. H.E. Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, and H.E. Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, held separate meetings with President Bio. The two presidents had an in-depth exchange of views on China-Sierra Leone relations, China-Africa relations and international and regional issues of shared interest, and reached extensive and important common understandings.
During his stay in China, President Bio also had a variety of activities, including hosting the Sierra Leone Investment Forum, visiting China Kingho Group, China Railway Group, Chengde Jianlong Special Steel Co. Ltd, and going to Wuhan to visit the Institute of Food Crops of Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Huawei Wuhan Research Center, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). This University awarded President Bio an honorary doctorate and signed a cooperation agreement with the Kono University of Science and Technology in Sierra Leone.
I have the honor to accompany President Bio throughout this visit. From my experience, this visit has been fruitful and gratifying. This visit is another important visit which has milestone significance in the history of our relations. How to understand the significance? I would like to share with you some of my views. The significance can be recognized in these four aspects:
First, this visit continue the tradition of regular communication between our two leaders and provide strategic guidance for our bilateral relations in the next stage. Looking back at history, leader diplomacy plays an indispensable role. President Bio’s State Visit to China in 2018 achieved fruitful results and effectively promoted the development of the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries. Since 2018, we have maintained regular communication. At the occasion of 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sierra Leone, President Xi and President Bio held phone call in 2021. This year, President Bio is the first African head of state received by President Xi. It is also President’s first state visit to a country outside Africa since his re-election. Both leaders show their great reassurance and personal commitment to the bilateral relations.
Secondly, this visit consolidate and strengthen China-Sierra Leone traditional friendship and political mutual trust. When it comes to China-Sierra Leone relations, we often say that we “share weal and woe”.That means, everytime when one country meet difficult time, the other country will reach out and give a hand. we can count on each other’s help. That’s the case of Ebola as well as the case of Covid 19. China is the first country to provide assistance to Sierra Leone with PPE and vaccines.Sierra Leone hence enjoys the highest coverage rate of covid-19 vaccine and is the most successful country in fighting COVID. This visit marked the first offline meeting between the two heads of state. President Bio expressed his appreciation face to face with President Xi. The two sides spoke highly of the new progress made in China-Sierra Leone relations since President Bio’s state visit to China in 2018. In particular, the two sides recalled the spirit of friendship and solidarity demonstrated in the fight against COVID-19, during which the people of China and Sierra Leone supported each other and fought the pandemic side by side.
The friendship between the two countries is also reflected in mutual support for core interests.In 1971, Sierra Leone was one the countries co-sponsored the UN Resolution 2758 which Restored all lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations. The two sides underscored the need for mutual support on issues of their respective core interests, which is a core tenet of China-Sierra Leone relations. The Chinese side reaffirmed its firm support for Sierra Leone in safeguarding national independence, sovereignty, security and developing interests, and expressed firm opposition to any foreign interference in the internal affairs of Sierra Leone.
The Sierra Leonean side reiterated its firm commitment to the one-China principle,recognizing that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Sierra Leonean side firmly opposes any form of “Taiwan independence” or external interference in the internal affairs of China, reaffirms that it will not develop any form of official exchanges with Taiwan and will support all efforts made by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification. Sierra Leone firmly supports China’s position on issues related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Xizang.
third, China-Sierra Leone practical cooperation has been further deepened. During this visit, During the visit, President Xi Jinping and President Bio witnessed the signing of 8 bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of the Belt and Road Initiative, agriculture, economic development, and the implementation of the Global Development Initiative. We also release China-Sierra Leone joint statement on deepening comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, which draw a grand blueprint for China-Sierra Leone practical cooperation in the next stage.
I want to expound on some among all of these. The first is to align development strategies.China will work with all parties involved to deepen Belt and Road partnerships of cooperation, usher this cooperation into a new stage of high-quality development, and make relentless efforts to achieve modernization for all countries. The “Belt and Road” cooperation plan signed by the two countries is also one of the biggest highlights of this visit. This document points out that under the “Belt and Road” cooperation framework, China and Sierra Leone will work together to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure, trade and investment, energy and resources, finance, science and technology, digital economy, green development, medical service and health, agriculture, forestry and water conservancy, education and training, cultural exchanges, rule of law and other fields. In addition, relevant departments of China and Sierra Leone also signed separate memorandums of cooperation in China’s assistance to Sierra Leone, media cooperation, agricultural cooperation and other aspects.
The second is to create new cooperation highlights. Let’s take agriculture as an example. President Bio proposed the Feed Salone Initiative. China has many good experiences in agriculture and would like to provide support to Sierra Leone. During the visit, Ministry of Agriculture of Sierra Leone and its counterpart signed a cooperation agreement. I believe that we can seek to roll out new cooperation measures and explore new growth areas, create new highlights of cooperation.
Lastly, China-Sierra Leone regional and international cooperation have become closer. The two sides agreed to uphold the principle of equality among all countries regardless of size, oppose hegemonism and power politics, and work to build an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. As developing countries, China and Sierra Leone share extensive common interests and similar positions on international affairs, and will support each other in this regard.
The two sides agreed to safeguard the UN-centered international system, the international order underpinned by international law, and basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, advance unity and cooperation of the international community, adhere to true multilateralism, and build a community with a shared future for mankind.
The two sides advocate humanity’s common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, and oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries on the pretext of “democracy” and “human rights.” China congratulated Sierra Leone again on its election as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council 2024-2025, and expressed its readiness to strengthen cooperation with Sierra Leone and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.
The two sides reiterated their support for the authority of the UN and agreed that reform of the UN Security Council needs to support developing countries including Africa in playing a bigger role, increase their representation and voice in the Security Council and redress the historical injustices done to Africa. The Chinese side spoke highly of Sierra Leone’s important role as chair of the African Union Committee of Ten Heads of State and Government on the UNSC reforms (C-10) and expressed its readiness to enhance coordination and cooperation with Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leonean side reiterated the African Common Position as enunciated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration as the only viable option to address the historical injustices done to Africa.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
There is an ancient Chinese poem that goes, “Distance cannot divide true friends who feel close even when thousands of miles apart.” Although China and Sierra Leone are separated by vast oceans, the two nations enjoyed a long history of friendship. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, China-Sierra Leone relations are a good example of China-Africa solidarity and cooperation. President Bio said China is a trustworthy and reliable friend. The two sides have always respected each other, treated each other as equals, and have a profound traditional friendship.
This visit has written an important chapter in the history of China-Sierra Leone friendship and unveiled a new era for the consolidation of bilateral relations and diversification of practical cooperation, which injected new momentum to the deepening of the China-Sierra Leone Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership.
I believe that under the common care and strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Sierra Leone friendly cooperation will gain more visible outcome. China is willing to join hands with Sierra Leone to cement the past achievements and forge ahead into the future, push China-Sierra Leone Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership to a new level, and bring better life and more benefits to the two peoples.
I thank you all!
