China on Wednesday hailed the upcoming Beijing summit between China and African nations as an important milestone in China-Africa ties.

"We believe the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be successful and become a milestone in China-Africa ties," Xu Jinghu, the head of the Africa Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a briefing on the FOCAC.

Chinese President Hu Jintao extended invitations to 48 African countries which have diplomatic ties with China, and all these countries have confirmed they will attend the summit, Xu said.

Most African delegations will be led by heads of state or government, she added.

The summit will be the most important and largest meeting between China and African leaders since the founding of the People's Republic of China, she said.

A China-Africa senior official meeting will be held from November 1 to 2, a ministerial meeting will take place on November 3 and the summit will run from November 4 to 5, Xu said.

The upcoming summit will include an opening ceremony, a leaders' round table meeting, dialogue between leaders and business representatives and a gala.

A political declaration and an action plan will come out of the summit, she said.

The preparations for the summit are going smoothly, she said.

FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly established by China and Africa to cope with new challenges and facilitate common development.

Since the launch of the FOCAC in 2000, two ministerial conferences have been held in Beijing and Addis Ababa.