On April 24, 2018, Secretary General of the Chinese Follow-up Committee of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and Director-General of the Department of African Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Dai Bing held a discussion with journalists of 2018 China-Africa Press Center of China International Press Communication Center. 28 journalists from 28 African countries including South Africa, Tanzania and Liberia attended the discussion.

Dai Bing welcomed journalists of China-Africa Press Center to come to China for further study and training and congratulated the journalists on successfully reporting the Two Sessions of China and the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018. Dai Bing expressed that China and Africa enjoy a long-standing friendship. With sincerity and friendship, both sides treat each other equally and are good friends, good partners and good brothers. Attaching high importance to China-Africa relations, President Xi Jinping chose Africa as the destination of his first visit after his assumption of President, and put forward the values of friendship, justice and shared interests as well as the concept of policy towards Africa featuring sincerity, real results, affinity, and good faith. At the FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, President Xi Jinping also announced to elevate China-Africa relations to the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and to implement ten major China-Africa cooperation plans, ushering in a new phase of win-win cooperation and common development. The 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit to be held in September will push China-Africa relations to new highs. Dai Bing expounded the values of friendship, justice and shared interests, the concept of policy towards Africa featuring sincerity, real results, affinity, and good faith as well as the connotation of the Five Development Concepts of China-Africa cooperation, introduced the implementation of the results of FOCAC Johannesburg Summit and made in-depth exchanges of views with the journalists on cooperation in such areas as economy and trade, investment, peace and security and people-to-people and cultural engagement between China and Africa as well as hotspot issues of Africa. Finally, Dai Bing expressed that as for whether China-Africa relations develop well or not, China and Africa are in the best position to talk about it. It is hoped that the media of China and Africa will maintain the independent perspectives and insights of their own on topics involving China, Africa as well as China-Africa cooperation and make voices of China and Africa heard, so as to consciously safeguard China-Africa friendly cooperation.

The journalists thanked Director-General Dai Bing for his introduction, highly appreciated the development achievements of China's reform and opening up and China's sincere help for the economic and social development of Africa and noted that the experience of studying and working in China has enabled them to gain a more intuitive and deeper understanding of China and Africa-China relations. The successful development experience of China carries very great referential significance for Africa to realize independent and sustainable development. They will positively report what they saw, heard and felt in China, in a bid to make due contributions to enhancing mutual understanding between Africa and China as well as boosting Africa-China cooperation.

China-Africa Press Center of China International Press Communication Center is an achievement of the 5th FOCAC Ministerial Conference in 2012 and sponsored by China Public Diplomacy Association.