Highlights of the talk by Zhao Zhongxiu

● What is the pathway to the future? The answer is: building a community of shared future for mankind.

In the more than 70 years since World War II, the world has overcome significant challenges to move forward, but we still suffer huge deficits in peace, development and governance. There is still a huge gap between the potential and actual development in Africa. Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the question of the era: What is the future direction of human society?

We live in a time of the internet, high-speed rail and artificial intelligence. We live in the same global village, at the same time and space, where history and reality meet. In fact, we have formed a community of shared future. Of course, we respect differences, yet we are able to live in harmonious coexistence and achieve “harmony without uniformity”. What is the way forward for humankind in the face of unilateralism and trade bullying? The Chinese solution is to build a community of shared future for mankind and achieve win-win cooperation.

The features of a community of shared future for mankind are lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness, as well as a clean and beautiful environment. These are exactly what the world needs. China’s efforts demonstrate some of the best practices for building a community of shared future for mankind.

● China’s support for the development of Africa is authentic, substantial, friendly and sincere.

A month and a half ago, I visited the control center of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in Nairobi, Kenya, where the chief engineer is a Chinese expert who used to be responsible for the running of the entire Chinese railway system.

China sincerely provides advanced technology to support the development of Africa and helps Africa in the application of Chinese technology and management experience in win-win cooperation. China has accumulated a lot of experience in the process of rapid industrialization and we are willing to share such experience with Africa and help the continent realize its dream of industrialization.

● Cooperation among BRICS countries is an effective pathway to the building of the community of shared future for mankind, and a model for success.

China is committed to building a community of shared future for mankind by promoting the reform of global governance to support the development of developing countries. China is committed to supporting and safeguarding the multilateral trading system, opposing trade protectionism, advocating the Belt and Road Initiative, promoting BRICS cooperation, and deepening China-Africa cooperation.

In a few days, the leaders of the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — will once again gather in Johannesburg. As the BRICS ushers in its second “golden decade”, it openly welcomes the participation of more countries. The “BRICS Plus” model is a good example for South-South cooperation. Collaboration among BRICS countries is comprehensive and multifaceted. Key areas of cooperation include, but are not limited to: promoting economic development and cooperation; improving innovation capacity; enhancing social justice and inclusiveness; maintaining peace and security; and optimizing global governance structure.