Changchun Foreign Affairs Office (CCFAO) invited the delegation led by the mayor of Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana, to a virtual meeting on the afternoon of December 16, 2021. The effort is meant to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, implement the consensus reached at the Beijing Summit of China-Africa Cooperation Forum, expand the cooperation in various fields in the new era and strengthen the precise connection and pragmatic cooperation between China and Africa. The two sides discussed the possibility of establishing friendly and cooperative relations in such fields as trade, education, agricultural processing and ICT and concluding friendly cooperation cities. 

“The cooperation between Changchun and Botswana is not something new. In 2019, the two sides started high-level mutual visits, having in-depth talks on party building, poverty alleviation, collective economy, agricultural planting and other fields, which in turn deepened the relations between the two parties and countries and also promoted local practical cooperation. Changchun is now in high gear for getting integrated into the dual circulation, and striving to build an important window for opening up of China to the north and a hub for regional cooperation in Northeast Asia,” said Xue Chunzhi, Director General of CCFAO, who extended his invitation to the people from all walks of life in Botswana to visit and know about Changchun and thus make new contributions to the joint construction of “Belt and Road” Initiative, the promotion of mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and the deepening of traditional friendship between China and Botswana. 

“There is a great development potential and a broad prospect for cooperation in Selebi-Phikwe. I hope this meeting can be taken a chance to speed up our cooperation in such fields as agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and work development. We are looking forward to having more people from your city to invest for win-win results in Selebi-Phikwe, help the city with diversified economic transformation, and add new impetus to the establishment of a friendly and cooperative city relationship and the promotion of local cooperation between China and Africa,” said the mayor of Selebi-Phikwe in his speech. 

After the speeches by the leaders of both sides, the participants had discussions on future cooperation and decided to keep communications, sign a memorandum of understanding, and send mutual visit delegations so as to accumulate strength for the establishment of a friendly and cooperative city relationship between the two sides. 

CCFAO, in line with the principle of “serving the country’s overall diplomacy” and the concept of “a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era”, will continue to improve the dialogue, consultation and cooperation mechanisms, cultivate and expand new momentum for mutually beneficial cooperation, promote the common development of local governments, and constantly create a new situation of cooperation and exchanges between China and Africa. 

Among the participants present at the meeting also included the representatives of Changchun Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Changchun Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Jilin International Studies University, Changchun Xuyang Group Import and Export Co., Ltd., Jilin Juhong Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.