Defeat COVID-19 Through Greater Solidarity and Cooperation
团结共抗疫 合作度时艰
Amb. Liu Yuxi, Head of Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the African Union
驻非盟使团团长刘豫锡大使
16 July 2020
2020年7月16日
At the moment, some people are discussing whether COVID-19 has made our world more united or divided. I think the answer is clear to China-Africa relationship that fighting the pandemic makes us more united. Weeks ago Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Africa’s President H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa as the Chair of AU and Senagal’s President H.E. Macky Sall as the Co-Chair of The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) initiated the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit On Solidarity Against COVID-19. Eleven more African countries’ leaders, the AUC chairperson, Secretary-General of the UN and Direct-General of WHO attended. This Extraordinary Summit of solidarity shows the high level of China-Africa strategic cooperation and our shared future at the crucial time of fighting against the pandemic.
当下有人在讨论，疫情使世界变得更团结了，还是更分裂了？我想对中非而言，答案是非常明确的，携手抗疫让中非人民更加团结。前不久，中国国家主席习近平同非盟轮值主席南非总统拉马福萨、中非合作论坛共同主席国塞内加尔总统萨勒共同倡议召开了中非团结抗疫特别峰会，非洲十多国国家领导人、非盟委员会主席、联合国秘书长、世界卫生组织总干事出席。在全球抗疫的关键时期，这场以“团结”命名的特别峰会再次彰显中非战略互信和休戚与共。
This Extraordinary Summit was held as the global efforts against COVID-19 going into ‘deep water’ and the confidence of multilaterlism urgently needs to be rebuilt. China and Africa have always been fighting together and supporting each other since the pandemic. At the most difficult moment in China’s fight against the pandemic, the African Union and African governments and people have stood firmly with China, providing valuable moral support and material help for the Chinese people while some of them were in difficulty themselves. As the pandemic began to spread in Africa, China took the lead to render assistance, sending anti-pandemic medical expert teams to 11 African countries and dispatching material assistance to more than 50 African countries and the African Union. China and Africa ought to strengthen cooperation against COVID since the situation of pandemic is becoming more and more severe in Africa. This year is the 20th anniversary of FOCAC and China-Africa relation has archived great improvement within this framework in 20 years. President Xi Jinping said that China will remain committed to fulfilling promises of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and making contribution to the international cooperation against COVID-19 in his speech of the Extraordinary Summit. This Summit will also further lead international cooperation to Africa.
本次特别峰会是在全球抗疫进入“深水期”、多边主义信心亟待重建的背景下举行的。疫情发生以来，中非始终相互支援、并肩战斗。在中方抗疫最艰难的时刻，非盟和非洲国家坚定支持中方抗疫。一些国家在自身困难的情况下向中方提供资金和物资帮助。非洲疫情暴发后，中方率先驰援，向非洲11个国家派出医疗专家组，向50多个非洲国家和非盟多批次提供紧缺抗疫物资。当前，非洲疫情形势愈加严峻，双方更应加大抗疫合作。今年还是中非合作论坛成立20周年。20年来，在论坛框架内，中非关系取得长足发展。习近平主席在特别峰会的讲话中说，召开团结抗疫特别峰会，就是用实际行动践行论坛北京峰会承诺，也是为国际合作抗疫贡献力量。这次峰会也将进一步引领国际对非合作。
The Extraordinary Summit has important significance on three levels.
本次峰会具有以下三个层面的重要意义：
First is to enhance mutual political trust of both sides. The mutual political support is always the most outstanding character of China-Africa friendship. President Cyril Ramaphosa highly commended the depth and resilience of China-Africa solidarity indicated of this Summit. In the Joint Statement of the Summit China supports African countries in exploring development paths suited to their national conditions, opposes interference in Africa’s internal affairs by external forces, calls on international community to support Africa in implementing its ‘Silencing the Guns’ campaign and urges for an early lifting of economic sanctions on Zimbabwe and Sudan. The African sides supports China’s position on Taiwan and Hong Kong and supports China’s efforts to safeguard national security in Hong Kong in accordance with law.
一是凝聚中非政治互信。政治上的相互支持始终是中非友好的鲜明底色。拉马福萨总统在发言中高度评价峰会凸显了中非团结的深度和韧性。峰会联合声明明确写入，中方支持非洲国家探索符合自身国情的发展道路，反对外部势力干涉非洲内部事务，呼吁国际社会支持非洲落实“消弭枪声倡议”，敦促尽快解除对津巴布韦和苏丹的经济制裁；非洲国家坚定支持中方在台湾、香港问题上的立场，支持中方在香港依法维护国家安全的努力。
Second is to build up China-Africa cooperation against COVID-19. As China-Africa cooperation keeps pace with the times, we need to take overall consideration on COVID-19 prevention and control as well as the requirements for eco-social development at the present stage. China’s support to Africa is not only in the need of African response to the COVID-19, but also focus on the long-term sustainable development. China will start to build the headquarters of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) jointly with the AU in this year, and has committed to preferentially provide African countries with the vaccine once its research and development has been finished and come into use. China will extend the period of related countries’ debt suspension apart from carry out the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative. China and Africa have agreed to speed up the exchange and cooperation on digitalization, information and communication technologies, specially tel-medicine, tel-education, 5G and big data. These measures will push the China-Africa relationship to a new high level.
二是共筑中非抗疫合力。中非合作与时俱进，现阶段需统筹兼顾疫情防控和经济社会发展需要。中方支持非洲举措，不仅契合非洲当前抗疫迫切需求，更着眼长远可持续发展。中方将同非盟一道于年内开工建设非洲疾控中心总部，承诺疫苗研发完成并投入使用后优先惠及非洲国家，在落实G20缓债倡议基础上延长对相关国家缓债期限。中非一致同意在后疫情时代拓展在数字化和信息通信领域特别是远程医疗、远程教育、5G、大数据领域交流合作。这些举措必将推动中非关系再上新台阶。
Third is to chart the course for China-Africa cooperation in a post COVID-19 era. Both China and Africa are faced with hard tasks of fighting against COVID-19, stabilizing the economy and maintaining the people’s livelihood. The Extraordinary Summit has made clear decision to work firmly together to fight against COVID-19, promote the China-Africa cooperation, practice multilateralism, promote the China-Africa friendship. The Summit clarified the focus of next stage of cooperation and affirmatively set the objectives of building a China-Africa community with shared health and a closer China-Africa community with shared future. There is still a long way to win the battle against COVID-19. This Summit reviewed China-Africa joint fighting against COVID-19 and indicated the future of mutual relationship based on the consideration of the situation, which strongly encouraged global united efforts. President Sall said during the Extraordinary Summit that China and Africa have over one third population of the world and we are working together to find the solution. The strength of China-Africa relationship will prevail the present challenges.
三是擘画中非关系未来。中非都面临抗疫情、稳经济、保民生的艰巨任务。峰会明确坚定不移携手抗疫、推进中非合作、践行多边主义、推进中非友好，明确双方下阶段合作重点，明确将以打造中非卫生健康共同体、构建更加紧密的中非命运共同体为奋斗目标。抗疫道阻且长，此次峰会既对中非联合抗疫的一次回顾，又审时度势指明了中非关系发展未来方向，为全球团结抗疫注入强心剂。萨勒总统在特别峰会上表示，中国和非洲拥有世界三分之一多人口，正携手寻求团结应对之道，中非关系迸发的力量必将战胜当前挑战。
The African governments and people have been working together to fight against COVID-19. The AU has formulated a continent strategy against pandemic and made arduous efforts to coordinate with all its strength. The resilience and toughness of African people have been reflected once again in the pandemic. China highly appreciates all those efforts. No matter on G20 Special Summit or the 73rd WHO Meeting or the Extraordinary Summit, ‘Solidarity’ and ‘Support Africa’ were always the keywords of President Xi Jinping’s speeches. Every anti-pandemic measure advocated by President Xi Jinping has been centered the unity and cooperation of the international community, and meant to unite the world efforts to fight against COVID-19.
为抗击疫情，非洲国家政府和人民众志成城，非盟制定全非抗疫战略，全力协调，为抗疫付出艰苦卓绝的努力，非洲人民的坚强和韧性在疫情面前得以再次体现，中方对此高度赞赏。无论是G20国家领导人特别峰会、第73届世界卫生大会，还是中非团结抗疫特别峰会，“团结合作”、“支持非洲”始终是习近平主席讲话的关键词。习近平主席倡导的每一项抗疫举措，都围绕国际社会团结合作展开,都是为了凝聚世界抗疫合力。
To keep the China-Africa relationship operating on a high level while the pandemic is prolonged and fighting measures become normal situation, we should strengthen mutual trust and firmly defend multilateralism. To advocate multilateralism is to advocate solidarity and cooperation. The high level political mutual trust and strong China-Africa relationship are the important guarantee for boosting the anti-pandemic confidence, especially the enterprise’s investment confidence and promoting the mutual-benefit cooperation. We should take this opportunity to implement the outcomes of the Extraordinary Summit. China always keeps its promise and will fully implement the measures that President Xi Jinping declared and the consensus reached with the African leaders. China is willing to strengthen coordinating and implement the commitments on aids for anti-pandemic, China-Africa flagship projects and debt relief. We should strengthen our confidence and collect the power and resources from all aspects. Although the COVID-19 broke out rapidly, human beings will still prevail it. We should properly utilize the FOCAC and ‘Belt and Road’ resources, collect power from the governments, and especially from the private-owned enterprise and people, to work together to prevail the pandemic and defend the economy.
为在疫情长期化和防控常态化下保持中非关系高水平运行，我们应夯实互信，坚定捍卫多边主义。倡导多边主义就是倡导团结合作。高水平的政治互信和强有力的中非关系，是提升抗疫信心，尤其是企业投资信心、推进互利合作的重要保证。我们应乘势而上，落实好特别峰会成果。中方向来重信守诺，将不折不扣落实好习近平主席宣布的举措以及同非方领导人达成的共识，愿同非方加强协调，将抗疫援助、中非旗舰项目、减债缓债等承诺落到实处。我们应坚定信心，汇集各方力量和资源。疫情虽来势汹汹，但人类终将战胜疫情。我们应用好中非合作论坛和“一带一路”资源，汇聚政府尤其是私营企业和民众力量，齐心协力，早日打赢疫情攻坚战和经济保卫战。
The tough grass survives the strong wind and the real gold smelt in the strong fire. Beyond this pandemic, the China-Africa relationship will move forward. The China-Africa solidarity will be the sample for the world and the China-Africa cooperation will develop further in this changing situation. AUC Chairperson H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat said on the Extraordinary Summit that the China-Africa joint fighting against COVID-19 has perfectly annotated “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. Let’s build up the embankment of prevention and control for COVID-19, strain the net of cooperation and converge the mighty strength of fighting against COVID-19.
疾风知劲草，烈火炼真金。经此一疫，中非关系必将更上层楼，中非团结必将成为全球标杆，中非合作必将在变局中取得更大发展。非盟委员会主席法基在特别峰会上说，中非携手抗疫完美诠释了“患难见真情”。让我们筑牢防控之堤，拉紧合作之网，汇聚起抗击疫情的磅礴力量。