By Alieu Amara Suwu
H.E. Hu Zhangliang, Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, has said China-Sierra Leone relationship is the epitome of China-Africa relations, because for over 51 years on, through the joint efforts of the two governments and peoples, China-Sierra Leone friendly relations have grown robustly and yielded notable results to the satisfaction and pride of both sides and have established a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
Ambassador Hu Zhangliang said this at the just concluded three days formal opening of the Africa-China Relations symposium that was held at the Africa Young Voices (AYV) House Mate Building Hall, Freetown, from 7-9 September 2022.
The Ambassador recounted that the Youyi Building, the National Stadium, the Mange Bridge, the Magbass Sugar complex, the RSLAF headquarters, the Bo Stadium, the Jui Hospital, the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Middle School and Primary Schools, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office Building, the second Juba Bridge, the Limkokwing-Regent Road, the Myohaung Officers’ Mess and Single Officers’ Quarters, the National Optical Fiber Backbone Network and the Foreign Service Academy to be completed soon are all landmarks of genuine friendship between China and Sierra Leone. Supporting Sierra Leone’s development undertakings, Ambassador Zhangliang said China has sent in several batches of medical teams, military medical experts groups, CDC teams and agricultural experts and has provided to Sierra Leone large quantities of food, medicine, agricultural machinery, vehicles, office equipment and other assistance such as the fight against COVID-19.
He said China has granted government scholarships to more than 1,200 Sierra Leonean students for them to study in China, and invited more than 5,100 Sierra Leoneans from all walks of life to China for short-term training and exchanges. He recalled that Sierra Leone has also given precious support to China on issues involving China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, dignity and security, which he said are vivid demonstrations of the special and reliable friendship between China and Sierra Leone.
In another vain, the Ambassador told his audience that China as the largest developing country, and Africa, as the continent with the largest number of developing countries, have long been sincere friends and have made important contributions to the building of a better world; under the new circumstances, China and Africa shoulder more and bigger international responsibilities.
Ambassador Zhangliang said in 1971, with the precious support of friendly countries including a number of African countries, The People’s Republic of China restored its legitimate seat in the United Nations, which Sierra Leone was one of the sponsors of the relevant UNGA resolution.
He said in 2021; direct Chinese investment stock in Africa reached US$43.4 billion, up by nearly 100 times from the year 2000 and China-Africa trade reached US$254.2 billion, more than 20 times the size of 2000. He said China has provided about 120,000 government scholarships to African countries, set up 61 Confucius Institutes and 44 Confucius Classrooms in collaboration with 46 African countries, forged 150 pairs of sister cities, and sent 21,000 doctors and nurses to 48 African countries who helped treating around 220 million patients.
All these efforts have consolidated people’s support for China-Africa friendship. In response to urgent global health crisis such as Ebola and COVID-19, he said China and Africa have always been together. China has provided about 120 batches of emergency anti-Covid-19 material assistance to African countries and dispatched an additional 300 plus medical personnel to Africa. He however said, albeit the great opportunities, China-Africa cooperation is not without challenges, a prominent one of which is the external interference and sabotage.
He concluded by calling on all to rise above any obstacles and redouble their efforts to promote China-Africa friendly cooperation to a new high.
Mohamed Rado Swarray, Minister of Information and Communication, in response agreed with what the Ambassador said and reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment to continuously uphold the relationship in good faith. He thanked the Chinese Government and pleaded for more supports to Sierra Leone.
The symposium brought together other government officials, including the ECOWAS Speaker, Sports Minister, MPs and representatives from other MDAs. Different presentations from persons were staged and finally the CEO of AYV, who spoke on Zoom, thanked both governments and participants.
