The Daily Telegraph Publishes a Signed Article by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming Entitled Beijing Summit Gave Wings to China-Africa Cooperation

　2018年9月14日，英国主流大报《每日电讯报》网络版刊登驻英国大使刘晓明题为《北京峰会为中非合作插上腾飞的翅膀》的署名文章。全文如下：

　　9月初，中非合作论坛北京峰会成功举行。50多个非洲国家领导人齐聚北京，共商合作，共谋发展，可谓盛况空前。英国各界很关注非洲发展和中非关系，英国媒体对峰会也作了不少报道，发表了不少评论。如何看待此次峰会的成果和意义？我认为，可以从三方面来解读： 

On 14 September 2018, the website of the Daily Telegraph published a signed article by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming entitled Beijing Summit Gave Wings to China-Africa Cooperation. The full text is as follows:

When leaders of more than 50 African countries gathered in Beijing in early September, people here in Britain watched with great interest. The attention was very much on Africa's development and its relations with China as this grand Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation focused on joint efforts for common prosperity. British media carried many reports and comments. What were the outcomes of this Summit and how significant are they? 

　　第一，打造了中非发展战略对接同心圆。当前，非洲国家迫切希望加快工业化和现代化进程，期待分享“一带一路”机遇和成果。北京峰会确定了未来3年中非合作“八大行动”，涵盖产业发展、设施联通、贸易便利、绿色发展、能力建设、健康卫生、人文交流、和平安全八大领域。“八大行动”与非盟《2063议程》、联合国2030年可持续发展议程及非洲各国发展战略的愿景和目标高度一致，与“一带一路”倡议的合作理念与重点方向契合呼应，环环相扣，互为助力，其圆点和核心就是中非优势互补，共促非洲经济社会转型和一体化建设。有人称中非合作不顾非洲实际，但事实恰恰相反。中国一直以平等朋友和伙伴的姿态，急非洲之所急，想非洲之所想。非洲大陆互联互通一直是非洲人民的梦想。以肯尼亚为例，殖民时期的铁路已无法适应肯尼亚发展需求。中国帮助肯修建的现代化蒙内铁路，带动肯GDP增长1.5%，将地区物流成本降低14%至40%，受到当地人民热烈欢迎。我想说的是，那些不了解非洲真正需要的人，只会离非洲越来越远。

First, the Summit highlights the perfect match between the development strategies of China and Africa. The summit rolled out eight major initiatives on industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, health care, people-to-people exchange, and peace and security. These will be the focal points for China-Africa cooperation in the next three years. The goals of these initiatives match those of the Agenda 2063 of the African Union, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, and the national development strategies of African countries. They also echo the values and priorities of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

Like concentric circles, Chinese and African efforts to implement these agendas and initiatives hinge upon a centre point: the strengths of China and the advantages of Africa complement and reinforce each other. These efforts in turn enable African countries to take advantage of the opportunities and successes of the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve industrialisation and modernisation as well as economic and social transformation and integration of the African continent.

Contrary to criticisms that China in its cooperation with African countries does not take into consideration the reality on the ground, China has always given priority to the needs and wants of Africa as a true friend and equal-footed partner would do.

A good example is the Mombasa-Nairobi railway. The facility from the colonial period is becoming a bottleneck in the development of Kenya and holding back pan-African connectivity. China helped Kenya build a modern standard gauge railway linking Mombasa and Nairobi, which boosted Kenya's GDP by 1.5 percent and cut regional logistics costs by 14 to 40 percent. This is a project close to the heart of the local people because it addresses their real needs.