The China-Africa International Communication Forum, a parallel sub-forum of the Sixth China-Africa Civil Society Forum, was successfully held in Beijing

On November 16, the Sixth China-Africa International Communication Forum, a parallel sub-forum hosted by the China International Public Relations Association (CIPRA) and guided by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, was successfully held in Beijing. The theme of the forum is “To explore the practice of public diplomacy and international communication between China and Africa and promote the healthy development of China-Africa non-governmental exchanges”.

On November 16, the Sixth China-Africa International Communication Forum, a parallel sub-forum hosted by the China International Public Relations Association (CIPRA) and guided by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, was successfully held in Beijing. The theme of the forum is “To explore the practice of public diplomacy and international communication between China and Africa and promote the healthy development of China-Africa non-governmental exchanges”. Wu Hongbo, President of CIPRA; Guo Xiaoyong, Vice President of CIPRA and former Executive Deputy Director of the China International Publishing Group(CIPG); Wang Dongmei, Vice President of CIPRA and former Secretary of the Secretary Office of the All China Journalists Association; Wu Wenxue, Vice President of CIPRA and former Deputy Director of the China National Tourism Administration; Chang Qide, United Nations Coordinator in China; Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, President of the African Public Relations Association (APRA); Maxim Behar, Communications Ambassador of the African Public Relations Association; Lv Dapeng, Press Spokesperson and Party Publicity Minister of Sinopec Group; Yang Lin, Founding Partner, Global Partner and Executive Director of the Global Board of Directors of Yingke International, and Wang Zhe, Managing Director of Edelman China’s Corporate Communications and Reputation Management Practice, delivered speeches. The forum was hosted by CIPRA Executive Vice President and Secretary General Zhao Dali and Resident Vice President Zhang Lan.

Wang Dongmei, Vice President of CIPRA and former Secretary of the Secretary Office of the All China Journalists Association, Xu Luping, former Vice Minister of the Liaison Ministry of China and Vice President of the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, and Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, President of the African Public Relations Association, delivered welcoming speeches.

In the first half of the forum themed “China-Africa Public Diplomacy”, Wu Hongbo, President of CIPRA, Special Representative of the Chinese Government for European Affairs and former UN Under-Secretary General, pointed out in his speech that promoting China-Africa friendship and cooperation is an important part of China’s diplomacy, and in the future, it is necessary to clarify objectives, increase investment, strengthen contacts and improve methods. At a time when China-Africa friendship and cooperation is facing new development opportunities, it is necessary to continuously develop a new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa and jointly implement sustainable development for the benefit of the Chinese and African people and make due contributions to world peace and development.

Chang Qide（Siddharth Chatterjee）, UN coordinator in China, recognized China’s efforts to build roads and schools in Africa. He believes that the economy is growing and more opportunities will come for China-Africa cooperation. Maxim Behar, Communications Ambassador of the African Public Relations Association, emphasized that in China-Africa public diplomacy, social media should respect the truth, tell the truth, report facts for users and promote further development of China-Africa friendly relations.

In the second half of the forum, with the theme of “International Communication between China and Africa”, Wu Wenxue, Vice President of CIPRA and former Deputy Director of China National Tourism Administration, said that in the face of the challenges of the new epidemic, China and Africa should maintain cooperation, strengthen communication, and work together to overcome the long distances of tourism trips, pay attention to solving security and language problems, and strengthen infrastructure services.

In her speech, Ms. Yang mentioned that she had visited two African island countries, Mauritius and Madagascar. During her visit to Madagascar to attend the summit jointly organized by the African Union and the United Nations, Ms. Yang communicated with the Prime Minister of Madagascar and many ministers of African countries, and felt the great expectation of Africa for Chinese investment and the importance of the Sustainable Development Goals for poor countries.

Yingke has been a co-founder of the UN South-South Cooperation Global Think Tank Network since 2016. Yingke lawyers have participated in many high-profile international conferences to tell China’s story and deliver China’s voice. Yingke made a donation through the United Nations to buy protective gear for African people during the epidemic, practicing corporate social responsibility

In the end, Guo Xiaoyong, Vice President of CIPRA and former Executive Deputy Director of the China International Publishing Group, gave a systematic and comprehensive summary of the forum from five aspects, and pointed out in particular that “building a closer China-Africa community of destiny has a broad future, a long way ahead and a long way to go, and requires China and Africa to jointly seize the opportunities and cope with the challenges, cooperate, share and develop together in the course of the great changes the world is experiencing in the past century. We need to seize the opportunities, meet the challenges, cooperate and share, develop together, and create a new situation of China-Africa civil friendship and cooperation.”

Yingke Law Firm has built a global legal services network that now covers 145 international cities in 83 countries, including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and Uganda. Yingke will actively introduce to our corporate clients the opportunities to invest in Africa and to promote the development of Africa through responsible investment. Yingke will also share its experience with companies, and we will work together to build a positive image of Chinese companies in the international arena, to be a good bridge of friendship and communication between China and Africa, and to help China and Africa prosper and develop.

The China-Africa Peaple’s Forum, initiated and organized by the China Association for the Promotion of International Exchange among Civil Society Organizations under the Ministry of the Central People’s Government, is one of the important institutionalized activities of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and an important bridge to deepen exchanges between the Chinese and African people. The Forum was founded in August 2011, and the first to the fifth sessions were successfully held in Nairobi, Suzhou, Khartoum, Yiwu and Chengdu. The Forum adheres to the three principles of China-Africa people’s friendship, which are “promoting people’s friendship, practical cooperation and world peace”, and has played an important role in promoting China-Africa people’s friendly exchanges and cooperation.

The opening session of the 6th China-Africa Peaple’s Forum was held at the Foreign Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Nov. 15. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the forum, reflecting the great importance that the Chinese Party and government attach to the China-Africa comprehensive strategic partnership and China-Africa friendly exchanges and cooperation, and pointing out the direction for passing on the traditional friendship between China and Africa, enhancing people’s welfare and promoting solidarity and cooperation.

As a parallel sub-forum of the 6th China-Africa Pealple’s Forum, the China-Africa International Communication Forum aims to discuss the practice of public diplomacy and international communication between China and Africa, and promote the healthy development of China-Africa civil communication. About 70 representatives from the United Nations, African embassies in China, African communication agencies, Chinese institutions in Africa, domestic enterprises and scholars attended the forum together.