FOCAC a Major Platform for Belt and Road Cooperation
将中非合作论坛建设成为中非共建“一带一路”主要平台
Ambassador of China Dr. Zhou Pingjian to Nigeria
驻尼日利亚大使周平剑
20 August 2018
2018年8月20日
The capital city of China is embracing Africa time soon.
很快，中国首都将迎来非洲时刻。
Early next month, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held under the theme of China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation. President Xi Jinping is looking forward to participating in the Beijing summit with African leaders to discuss plans for the development of China-Africa cooperation so as to improve the well-being of the Chinese and African peoples and promote world peace and development.
中非合作论坛北京峰会下月初即将举办，主题是：“中国和非洲：合作共赢，携手构建更加紧密的中非命运共同体”。习近平主席期待同非方领导人在北京共襄盛举，共商中非合作发展大计，为增进中非人民福祉、促进世界和平与发展贡献力量。
We Chinese appreciate the African wisdom, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” Indeed, similar historical experience, common development tasks and shared strategic interests have bound China and Africa together. China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future. In today’s world, China-Africa relations have become more important with increasing common interests. Advancing China-Africa cooperation represents the trend of the times and the will of our peoples.
非洲谚语说得好：“独行快，众行远。”的确，共同的历史遭遇、共同的发展任务、共同的战略利益把中国和非洲紧紧联系在一起，中非从来都是命运共同体。新形势下，双方共同利益增多，中非关系更加重要。推进中非合作是双方人民共同心愿，是大势所趋、人心所向。
The FOCAC is 18 years old this year. Since its inception in 2000, remarkable progress has been made in China-Africa cooperation across-the-board. Two-way trade and China’s total non-financial investment in Africa in 2017 were 17 times and around 100 times that of 2000 respectively, which shows China’s contribution to Africa’s economic development has risen significantly. As a key platform for the collective dialogue and cooperation between China and African countries, the FOCAC has become a model of South-South cooperation and a banner of international cooperation with Africa.
中非合作论坛成立18年来，双方各领域务实合作取得丰硕成果。2017年中非贸易额和中国对非洲非金融类投资存量分别是2000年的76倍和约100倍，中国对非洲经济发展的积极贡献和促进作用日益凸显。作为中国和非洲国家之间集体对话合作的关键平台，中非合作论坛已成为引领国际对非合作的一面旗帜、南南合作的公认典范。
“We are confident that China, as a strategic and dependable development partner, will always stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our quest to fulfill the aspirations of our people to propel them to prosperity,” said President Muhammadu Buhari in his remarks at the Plenary Meeting of the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit in December 2015. China has proved itself to be a reliable partner of Africa by always walking the talk. The follow-up actions and the implementation of the outcomes of the Johannesburg Summit, including the “ten cooperation plans” and the FOCAC Johannesburg Action Plan (2016-2018), have produced fruitful results as expected.
布哈里总统在2015年12月中非合作论坛约翰内斯堡峰会上发言说：“中国是战略性的、可信赖的发展伙伴。在我们为人民谋幸福的进程中，相信中国将始终同我们并肩同行。”事实表明，中国向来说到做到，无愧为非洲的可靠伙伴。论坛约堡峰会提出的中非“十大合作计划”和《中非合作论坛－约翰内斯堡行动计划（2016－2018年）》各项后续行动落实取得预期的丰硕成果。
The implementation work of the FOCAC Johannesburg summit has been going smoothly with prominent achievements in Nigeria. The remarkably deepened political mutual trust. The robust bilateral trade and investment relations. The Naira/RMB currency swap. The strong Made-in-Nigeria with China initiative. The flourishing Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone and the Lekki Free Trade Zone. The offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) delivery. The emergency food aid. The agricultural science and technology demonstration parks. And early this month, Anthony Ekwensi, the 21-year old Nigerian student from UniZik, was crowned the African champion at the 17th Chinese Bridge Chinese Language Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in China. The list could go on and on.
在尼日利亚，论坛约堡峰会成果全面落地，成效显著。两国政治互信显著增强，双边贸易投资合作强劲，人民币/奈拉实现互换，同中国合作的“尼日利亚制造”势头良好，奥贡广东自贸区和莱基自贸区日益兴盛，多艘近海巡逻舰交付使用，多批紧急粮援先后移交，农业示范园生机勃勃，等等。8月初，来自尼日利亚阿齐克韦大学的丁家明同学在第17届“汉语桥”大赛中荣获非洲第一。合作成果清单还很长很长。
Let me go further on infrastructure, a key execution priority of Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). The Abuja-Kaduna railway, Africa’s first modern railway with Chinese technology and standards, was commissioned in July 2016. The Abuja rail mass transit project, the first urban railway in West Africa, was commissioned in July 2018. The Lagos-Ibadan railway broke ground and started building in March 2017. The construction of the Lekki deep water port, the largest port in West Africa, and the Zungeru hydropower station, the largest hydropower station in Nigeria, are well under way. In the past year alone, both sides of China and Nigeria have concluded the concessionary financing arrangements to support more infrastructural development projects in Nigeria, namely, the Nigerian railway modernization project (Logos-Ibadan section), the expansion of 5.4 KM of Abuja-Keffi expressway and dualization of Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi road, the Greater Abuja water supply project, the supply of rolling stocks and depot equipment for Abuja rail mass transit project phase I, and the national information and communication technology infrastructure backbone project phase II. Tens of thousands of jobs have been created for Nigerians by projects contracted by Chinese enterprises or partly financed by the Chinese side.
再拿基础设施建设这一尼日利亚经济复苏与增长计划的主要优先领域来说吧。非洲第一条全部采用中国技术和标准的现代化铁路阿布贾至卡杜纳铁路2016年7月建成通车，西非第一条轻轨阿布贾城铁2018年7月投入运营，拉各斯至伊巴丹现代化铁路2017年3月破土动工，西非最大的港口莱基深水港和尼日利亚最大的水电站宗格鲁水电站顺利在建。过去一年，双方又达成优惠融资协议支持铁路、公路、供水、装备、通信基础设施等5个新项目。中国企业承建和中方提供部分融资的项目合作为尼日利亚创造了数万个就业岗位。
When President Buhari received the board of directors of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group in January this year, he said, “We send our gratitude to the Chinese for all their support to Nigeria. Since independence, no country has helped our country on infrastructural development like the Chinese. In some projects, the Chinese help us with 85 percent payment, and soft loans that span 20 years. No country has done that for us.”
今年1月，布哈里总统在会见尼日利亚经济峰会集团董事会成员时公开表示，“衷心感谢中国人民对尼日利亚的鼎力支持。自独立以来，没有任何一个国家能够像中国这样帮助尼日利亚推进基础设施建设。中方就一些项目提供优惠贷款，期限长达20年。除了中国，没有哪个国家如此支持过尼日利亚。”
As the largest developing country in the world, China takes deep pride in its ever stronger partnership with Nigeria, the largest developing country in Africa. It is our firm belief that the China-Nigeria cooperation is brotherly South-South cooperation between two equal partners and is indeed mutually beneficial. China remains committed to stepping up its cooperation with Nigeria in agriculture, manufacturing, industrial capacity and investment, infrastructure, energy, and other areas.
中国是世界上最大的发展中国家，尼日利亚是非洲最大的发展中国家，中方为中尼伙伴关系愈加强劲感到骄傲。中尼合作平等互利，是兄弟般的南南合作。中方致力于加强同尼方在农业、加工制造业、产能投资、基础设施、能源等各领域合作。
We now face new opportunities to grow our bilateral relations.
当前，中尼关系发展面临新机遇。
Five years ago, President Xi Jinping proposed the initiative of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. The Belt and Road Initiative emphasizes on integrating the development strategies and complementary advantages of the partnering countries with a view to promoting high-quality and sustainable development for all in a spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. The past five years have witnessed that the Belt and Road Initiative has transformed itself from a vision to practical actions with fruitful cooperation results. The Belt and Road Initiative is open to all countries. Though originating from China, it belongs to the whole world. Africa, being part of the historical and natural extension of the Belt and Road, has been an important participant in this initiative. The cooperation between China and Africa under the Belt and Road Initiative will generate more resources and means, expand the market and space for African development, and broaden its development prospects.
五年前，习近平主席提出“一带一路”倡议。“一带一路”源于中国，属于世界，对各国开放。本着共商共建共享精神，“一带一路”注重伙伴国家间的发展战略对接和优势互补，以促进各国的高质量、可持续发展。过去五年，“一带一路”从愿景变成现实，取得丰硕合作成果。非洲是“一带一路”的历史和自然延伸，是重要参与方。中非共建“一带一路”将为非洲发展提供更多资源和手段，拓展市场和空间，提供广阔发展前景。
Coming the FOCAC Beijing Summit, Both sides will endeavor to combine the theme of the summit with the joint construction of the Belt and Road between China and Africa, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, the Agenda 2063 of the African Union as well as the development strategies of various African countries such as Nigeria’s ERGP to make new planning for win-win cooperation and open up new prospects for common development. The closer connectivity in policy, infrastructure, trade, finance and people-to-people ties, strengthened industrial capacity cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and the greater cooperation in the planning of African infrastructure and industrial development will lend new impetus to the win-win cooperation and common development between China and Africa. Making the FOCAC a major platform for China-Africa cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative with concerted efforts will surely further strengthen the China-Africa solidarity and cooperation in a new era.
在即将举办的中非合作论坛北京峰会上，中非双方将致力将峰会主题同中非共建“一带一路”、联合国2030年可持续发展议程、非盟《2063年议程》和非洲各国发展战略包括尼日利亚经济复苏与增长计划紧密对接，做出合作共赢的新规划，开辟共同发展的新前景。增进政策沟通、设施联通、贸易畅通、资金融通、民心相通，深化双方“一带一路”合作，加强双方在非洲基础设施和工业化发展领域的规划合作，将为中非合作共赢、共同发展注入新动力。将中非合作论坛建设成为中非共建“一带一路”的主要平台必将加强新时代中非团结合作。
In April 2016, President Buhari became the first head of state from Africa President Xi received in Beijing shortly after the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit. The China-Nigeria relations have since entered a new stage of rapid development. It is our firm belief that President Buhari’s attendance at the upcoming FOCAC Beijing Summit will make important contribution to China-Africa cooperation and bring about new opportunities to grow China-Nigeria strategic partnership.
2016年4月，布哈里总统成功对华进行国事访问。他是中非合作论坛约翰内斯堡峰会后习近平主席在北京接待的首位非洲国家元首。在两国领导人重要共识指引下，中尼关系进入了快速发展新阶段。我们相信，布哈里总统应邀出席论坛北京峰会将为中非合作做出重要贡献，为中尼战略伙伴关系发展带来新的机遇。
Beijing warmly welcomes Nigeria and Africa.
北京热烈欢迎尼日利亚和非洲！