Chinese President Xi Jinping will preside over an extraordinary China-Africa summit on solidarity against COVID-19 in Beijing on June 17, and deliver a keynote speech.

The summit is jointly proposed by China; South Africa, the rotating chair of the African Union (AU); and Senegal, co-chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. It will be held via video link.

Leaders of African countries, including members of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government and rotating chairs of major African subregional organizations, and the chairperson of the AU Commission, will attend the summit upon invitation.

The secretary-general of the United Nations and the director-general of the World Health Organization will attend the meeting as special guests.

"China has consistently attached great importance to the friendly relations of cooperation with Africa and is ready to work with African countries to build a closer community of shared future," foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a press conference on June 16.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and African countries have offered assistance to each other and joined hands in fighting COVID-19, he added.

Currently the pandemic remains severe globally and the epidemic continues in Africa, Zhao said, adding that convening the summit at this crucial time shows once again the brotherhood between China and Africa.

The summit will not only consolidate consensus between the two sides on solidarity against COVID-19 and advance China-Africa cooperation, but also inject a new impetus into multilateralism and global cooperation against COVID-19.