On January 15 local time, Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) met with visiting Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Augustin Matata Ponyo expressed that your visit to DR Congo is on the occasion of the important period in the national development of the country, in which they are stepping up efforts to stabilize the security situation, vigorously advancing economic construction, carrying out a series of pioneering reforms, and striving to achieve the goal of constructing itself into an emerging economy by 2030. DR Congo attaches great importance to its relations with China, appreciates China for its contributions to helping DR Congo in its infrastructure construction, admires China’s achievement of rapid development, and stands ready to learn from China’s successful experience. DR Congo hopes that China could help the country in advancing on the development path suitable for its national conditions, especially in intensifying cooperation in agricultural modernization and industrialization. It is hoped that China could become a reliable and comprehensive cooperative partner that advances hand in hand with DR Congo, ushering into a new course of bilateral relations.

Wang Yi expressed that China has always regarded DR Congo as an important cooperative partner in its relations with Africa and is ready to maintain a partnership featuring long-term stability and rich strategic significance, so as to safeguard common interests and achieve common development. Wang Yi noted that the abundant natural and human resources and important geographic position constitute the conditions for your country to grow into an emerging economy. China supports the efforts of your country in unremittingly exploring the development path suitable for your national conditions and stands ready to boost exchanges and cooperation in governance and administration of state affairs and share development experience. China and DR Congo are prominently complementary in their economy. DR Congo, which is standing at the take-off stage of industrialization, needs to undertake the industrial transfer from overseas markets, while China, which has been in the later phase of industrialization, has abundant production capacity, quality equipment, mature technologies, and construction capabilities with high cost-performance. As more Chinese enterprises going overseas, China could become a long-term and reliable cooperative partner of DR Congo in its industrialization process. Both sides could actively discuss on new approaches and new fields to further expand and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation while promoting the “package of mutually beneficial cooperation” in a continuous manner.