Xi back home after successful visit to African countries

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Sunday after state visits to the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa.

During his stay in South Africa, Xi attended the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg. He also paid a friendly visit to Mauritius during a stopover on his way back to Beijing. Although the visit to Mauritius was brief, the results were fruitful and significant, which will surely consolidate and strengthen the friendly ties between China and Mauritius, said Xi.

Jugnauth congratulated Xi on the success of his visit to Mauritius. He thanked China for its long-term assistance and support to Mauritius and looked forward to meeting Xi again during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on emerging market economies and developing countries to enhance cooperation in addressing common challenges.

Xi made the remarks in a speech to an outreach dialogue grouping leaders from the BRICS, the "BRICS Plus" and African countries at the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The leaders discussed international development and cooperation, as well as the important cause of South-South cooperation, and reached broad consensuses.

The world is undergoing great developments and transformation, during which emerging markets and developing countries are faced with shared opportunities and challenges, Xi said, stressing that it is increasingly important for them to enhance solidarity and cooperation.

First, he said, the BRICS countries and their partners should jointly deepen their mutually beneficial partnership. We should understand, support, stay forever with and help each other, taking "BRICS Plus" cooperation as an opportunity to build an open, inclusive, cooperative and win-win partnership and create a platform for deepening South-South cooperation, said the Chinese president.

Second, the BRICS countries and their partners should jointly explore new driving forces for development, Xi said. Third, the Chinese president urged the BRICS partners to jointly create a positive external environment, protect the multilateral trade regime, build an open world economy, continue to promote global economic governance reform, and strengthen the representation and voice of emerging market economies and developing countries.

“Fourth, we should build a new type of international relations together, firmly safeguard multilateralism, push the development of international order toward a more just and rational direction and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Xi said.