Wan Lixin. Guests from Africa take a trip on the Huangpu River.
Almost 50 African diplomats and leaders from foreign affairs institutes in Africa were treated to an unforgettable cruise along the Huangpu River on Thursday evening, taking in the stunning cityscape.
They took the trip soon after arriving in Shanghai on a bullet train from Beijing. They were in the Chinese capital to attend a seminar on "Building a China-African Community with a Shared Future" at the Foreign Affairs University.
Although the daytime temperature in Shanghai was unusually high for the season, the cruise along the river in the balmy night breeze was pleasant. No sooner had the cruise departed than the guests were busy finding the best angle for a shot of the glittering skyscrapers in Pudong and the iconic architectural gems on the Bund on the other side.
"I've heard a lot about China, but this is the first time I've seen it for myself, and I think it's fantastic, and I'm sharing it with a friend," said Mamadou Ballo, Department Chief of the Directorate of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Republic of Mali.
"I am really surprised to see how green the cities are. We've seen green everywhere," he added.
Last September, at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, it was announced that the China-Mali relationship had been elevated to a strategic partnership, with Chinese companies encouraged to invest in Mali, particularly in agriculture, energy, mineral development, infrastructure construction, and other areas.
Isabel Eraul Iuina was so pleased by the sparkling night view that she urged me to congratulate the Shanghai mayor on conjuring up this magical image. She had previously served as mayor of Malabo, Equatorial Guinea's capital, from 2004 to 2009. Iuina is now the chairwoman of the parliament's foreign policy committee.
Isabel Eraul Iuina, a senior member of the parliament of Equatorial Guinea, on the cruise
China's partnership with Equatorial Guinea is being hailed as a model for South-South cooperation, with experts pointing to the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship.
While China's current cooperation with Equatorial Guinea mainly focuses on infrastructure, technological cooperation, and other related areas, in the future, China will work toward promoting industrialization in Equatorial Guinea, as the resource-rich country is in urgent need of diversifying its economic development and industrialization.
The envoys also visited the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai.
On Friday afternoon, they visited Donghua University and talked to professors and students. By Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux
