On June 23, 2019, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed his views on strengthening the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the new era when he held talks in Beijing with Foreign Minister Amadou Ba of Senegal, the African co-chair of the FOCAC.

Wang Yi said that as the co-chair of the forum, the Chinese side is willing to work together with the Senegalese side to jointly promote China-Africa unity and cooperation and set up a model of win-win cooperation. We should adhere to the nature and orientation of the South-South Cooperation of the forum; take unity and cooperation as our guide and political guidance and practical cooperation as the dual driving force; combine multilateral and bilateral cooperation to promote all-round development of China-Africa cooperation; and pursue extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, respect the wishes of African countries and conduct cooperation that meets their needs. China-Africa cooperation enjoys broad prospects. It is believed that with the joint efforts of China and Africa, the Sherpa meeting will be a success, providing new impetus for China-Africa cooperation and ushering in a new era for the development of the FOCAC.

Amadou Ba noted that the FOCAC Beijing Summit last year was a complete success and thanked the Chinese side for its efforts to implement the eight major initiatives. As a co-chair of the forum, the Senegalese side is willing to work with the Chinese side to build the forum well and promote unity and cooperation between China and Africa to benefit the two peoples. Africa and China should also gather consensus in the upcoming Sherpa meeting on the implementation of the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit to be held in Beijing, so as to send a unified voice of Africa-China unity and cooperation and adherence to multilateralism.