CGTN: China-Africa ties at 70: From shared struggles to a common dream of modernization

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BEIJING, May 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This year marks the 70th anniversary of China-Africa relations. CGTN has published an article highlighting Africa’s priority role in China’s overall foreign policy, while tracing how the China-Africa partnership has been forged and strengthened over decades. The article also explores how deepening cooperation in recent years has helped enhance the voice and representation of the Global South, and contributed to advancing a more balanced and democratic international order.

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As Chinese President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi exchanged congratulatory messages on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of China-Egypt ties, the occasion also highlighted a broader milestone: seven decades of China-Africa relations.

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Xi noted that over the past 70 years, China-Egypt relations have become a model of amity, solidarity and cooperation among developing countries, as well as a benchmark for cooperation between China and Arab states and between China and Africa.

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Today, China-Africa relations have evolved from a friendship forged in shared struggles into a dynamic partnership dedicated to development, modernization and the rise of the Global South.

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From solidarity to strategic partnership

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The foundations of China-Africa friendship were laid during a period of profound political change.

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From the 1950s to the 1970s, China firmly supported African countries in their struggles for national independence and liberation. African nations, in turn, played a decisive role in restoring the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China at the United Nations in 1971. Of the 76 votes cast in favor of the resolution, 26 came from African countries – laying a strong foundation for China-Africa mutual trust.

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Earlier this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Africa, continuing a 36-year tradition of making the continent the destination of China’s foreign minister’s first overseas trip each year, highlighting the importance of China-Africa relations.

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Over the past two decades, China-Africa cooperation has expanded rapidly. The establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2000 provided an institutional framework for cooperation, while China’s Africa policy of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith further guided bilateral relations. In 2015, the two sides elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and launched the “Ten Cooperation Plans,” setting a strong foundation for rapid modernization across the African continent.

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At the 2024 FOCAC summit, China and Africa further upgraded their relationship to an all-weather community with a shared future for the new era. China also expanded duty-free access from 33 African countries to all 53 African countries with diplomatic ties by 2025, becoming the first major economy to grant unilateral zero-tariff treatment across all product categories to every African country with which it has diplomatic relations.