China, DRC upgrade ties to comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership

BEIJING - The presidents of China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced on Friday the elevation of the bilateral relationship from a strategic partnership of win-win cooperation to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Bilateral cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results in recent years, and China has been the DRC's largest trading partner and source of foreign investment for many years in a row, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his talks with visiting DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo in Beijing.

The two sides have forged a close community of shared interests and shared future, Xi said.

He expressed the belief that China's high-quality development will provide more cooperation opportunities and a broader market for the DRC and promote greater development of bilateral relations.

China will, as always, help the DRC in its economic and social development, support its industrialization strategy, strengthen cooperation in energy, mining, agriculture, infrastructure, and manufacturing, and tap the potential of cooperation in the digital economy, education, and health, Xi said, adding that China is ready to send agricultural technology experts to the DRC.

China hopes that the DRC will provide policy support and service convenience for Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in the DRC and foster a fair, just, and safe business environment, he said.

Xi said China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the DRC in multilateral affairs, jointly practice true multilateralism, and uphold international fairness and justice.

After the talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in investment, green economy, digital economy, and other fields.