By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE:Wang Yi,the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee has emphasized the importance of ensuring that,the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC) maintains its mandate of improving the lives of the African and Chinese people.

But eSwatini, a tiny Kingdom that maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan-a Chinese Province, has been left out in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation development agenda.

The Chinese Foreign Minister shared these sentiments during a press conference when unpacking the outcomes of the recent FOCAC Summit,held in China-Beijing this month.

When responding to Chinese and foreign journalists, Wang was with Senegal Foreign Minister Yassine Fall, the incumbent African co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso of the Republic of the Congo,the incoming African co-Chair.

In an online report published by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was stated that,China “has entered into strategic partnerships with all African countries having diplomatic ties with China”.

It has been reported that, during the Summit, China established or elevated its strategic partnerships with a total of thirty(30)countries.

“China and 53 African strategic partners, standing shoulder to shoulder, will play a greater role in improving the well-being of the Chinese and African people, and safeguarding world peace and stability.Second, the characterization of the overall China-Africa relations was elevated to an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era. Thanks to nearly 70 years of concerted efforts, the China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history. From a new type of partnership to a comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership, and to an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era, the China-Africa relationship has kept reaching new heights, with clearer characterization and greater substance. This progress demonstrates the firm resolve of the over 2.8 billion Chinese and African people to share weal and woe and march forward hand in hand amid once-in-a-century transformation of the world, and opens a new chapter in the cause of building a community with a shared future for mankind”, reads the report in part.

The report further states that,a six(6) point proposition on China-Africa joint efforts to advance modernization was articulated. “President Xi Jinping pointed out that China and Africa should advance modernization that is just and equitable, that is open and win-win, that puts the people first, that features diversity and inclusiveness, that is eco-friendly, and that is underpinned by peace and security. This proposition is widely accepted by African leaders, and has become a political consensus between China and Africa. It marks the two sides’ deepening understanding of the rules governing modernization, and will have a significant and far-reaching impact on spearheading faster modernization of the Global South and advancing global modernization”,the report states.