26th May 2023 – (Beijing) Chinese President Xi Jinping and DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo announced on Friday that the bilateral relationship between their countries has been upgraded to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership from a strategic partnership of win-win cooperation.
During their talks in Beijing, President Xi noted that China and the DRC have been strategic partners with deep traditional friendship forged in the course of fighting for national liberation and opposing colonial aggression.
In recent years, bilateral cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results, with China being the DRC’s largest trading partner and source of foreign investment for many years in a row, Xi added. He also noted that the two sides have forged a close community of shared interests and shared future.
Xi stressed that China’s successful experience in its path to modernization shows that developing countries have the right and the ability to explore modernization paths suited to their national conditions. China is ready to synergize its development strategies with the DRC, support each other, and promote cooperation and development.
Xi expressed his belief that China’s high-quality development will provide more cooperation opportunities and a broader market for the DRC, thus promoting greater development of bilateral relations. China will continue to help the DRC in its economic and social development, support its industrialization strategy, strengthen cooperation in energy, mining, agriculture, infrastructure, and manufacturing, and tap the potential of cooperation in the digitaleconomy, education, and health. Xi also expressed China’s readiness to send agricultural technology experts to the DRC.
Furthermore, China hopes that the DRC will provide policy support and service convenience for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the DRC, and foster a fair, just, and safe business environment.
In addition to strengthening coordination and cooperation with the DRC in multilateral affairs, Xi called on the two sides to uphold the basic norms governing international relations. They should oppose all forms of hegemonism and power politics, interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.
Xi emphasised that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future, and the two sides need to strengthen solidarity and cooperation more than ever under the current international situation. China firmly supports Africa in pursuing an independent development path and becoming an important pole in world politics, economy, and civilisation.
Tshisekedi, for his part, congratulated China on the success of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the “two sessions,” and Xi’s reelection as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and the Chinese president, as well as China’s extraordinary achievements in the new era under President Xi’s leadership.
He expressed his conviction that China will realise its Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.
Tshisekedi thanked China for its important assistance and valuable support for the economic and social development of the DRC over the past half century. He also reaffirmed the DRC’s adherence to the one-China policy and support for China’s efforts to achieve national reunification.
The DRC is willing to work with China to deepen cooperation in economy, trade, resources, infrastructure, medical care, and other fields to enrich the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and build a mature, stable, and groundbreaking relationship for the benefit of the two peoples, Tshisekedi said.
Following their talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in investment, green economy, digital economy, and other fields.
Prior to the talks, President Xi held a welcome ceremony for President Tshisekedi at the square outside the Great Hall of the People. In the evening, President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan held a banquet for President Tshisekedi and his wife Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi at the Great Hall of the People.