On December 11, 2007, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui met with a visiting 100-member African youth delegation at the Chinese Foreign Ministry and took a group photo with them.

During the meeting, Zhang said despite the enormous achievements in its reform and opening up, China remains a developing nation, which can resolve difficulties and challenges it faces only through further development. China pursues and always sticks to an independent foreign policy of peace, he said. China is ready to seek an international and neighboring environment of long-term peace and stability to achieve self-development and contribute more to world peace and development through self-development. China attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with African countries and adheres to the principle of sincere friendship, equal treatment, solidarity and cooperation and common development, Zhang said, adding that China and Africa will remain good friends, good partners and good brothers forever. He hoped that the African young people will take home what they have seen and heard in China, especially the friendly feelings Chinese people hold towards African people, and play a positive role in promoting China-Africa relations.

A representative of the African youth delegation from Cameroon, while making a speech in reply, expressed sincere thanks for the invitation of the Chinese side. Hailing China-Africa friendly cooperative relations, she said the African youth are ready to contribute to building mutual understanding between young people of the two sides and deepening their traditional friendship. The African youth also wish the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in China a success, she added.

During a visit to Africa in February of 2007, Chinese President Hu Jintao proposed to invite 500 African young people to visit China from 2007 to 2009. This 100-member delegation is the first group to visit China. Members of the delegation come from 10 countries including Algeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.