Li Zhaoxing, President of China Public Diplomacy Association and former Chinese Foreign Minister, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Over 400 people, including African diplomats to China, former Chinese ambassadors to African countries, experts from Chinese institutes on African studies, and African student representatives in China, attended the event.

The bilingual, both Chinese-English and Chinese-French, China-Africa 500: Facts about China, Africa and Relations between the Two , of which Beijing Review  had a part in compilation and translation, summarizes the natural, historical, cultural, political and economic conditions and the development of China-Africa relations into over 500 sentences. This book will be an important window for Chinese and Africans to get to know each other.

The Chinese Bridge - Sino-African Friendship Knowledge Competition is jointly organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) and the Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The Chinese winners will have opportunities to visit African countries like South Africa, Kenya and Egypt, while the African winners will have chances to visit China.

Li said in his speech that good things should come in pairs. He believes that the book will further enhance understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and African people, and the competition will promote friendly exchange between the two peoples. Li recalled his 10 years of work in Africa and told vividly his own stories in Africa, calling himself a typical case of someone who has been to Africa, fell in love with Africa and misses Africa. He called for young people of China and African countries to read the book, encouraged young people to participate in the competition and grow into young envoys for China-Africa friendship.

Lin Songtian, Secretary General of the Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of FOCAC and Director General of the African Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in his speech that this year marks the 15th anniversary of FOCAC inception, and the upcoming FOCAC Summit will be the first one held in the African continent. It will be a milestone in the history of China-Africa relations and usher the relations to a new era of win-win cooperation for common development.

Head of the African Diplomatic Mission and Ambassador of Madagascar to China Sikonina Victor, Deputy Director of Peking University Board Li Qiang, Ambassador of South Africa to China Dolana Msimang, and Deputy Director General of Hanban Xia Jianhui congratulated the success of this event in their remarks and encouraged young people of China and Africa to participate in the competition and contribute more to the mutual understanding and friendship between China and Africa.

This event is cosponsored by the Secretariat of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of FOCAC, Peking University, China Public Diplomacy Association and the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban).

Launching Ceremony of the book China-Africa 500: Facts About China, Africa and Relations Between the Two  (WANG XIANG)

Li Zhaoxing, President of China Public Diplomacy Association and former Chinese Foreign Minister, shares his experience in Africa at the ceremony (WANG XIANG)