Xiplomacy: China, Algeria mark anniversary of ties with eyes on stronger partnership

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"It took four to six hours to the capital Algiers, and a round trip meant a whole day," recalled Abdelghani, who lives in Algeria's agricultural province of Bejaia.

"The vegetables and fish on the trucks weren't fresh when the weather was hot," he said, adding that he was often frustrated by the congested and rugged roads.

On July 13, the main section of the Bejaia Highway was opened and enabled Abdelghani to reach Algiers in less than two hours.

Over the past 20 years, Chinese builders have paved about 700 km of highways in Algeria, benefiting 30 million people in different regions of the country.

In addition to highways, Algerian landmarks such as the Algiers Grand Mosque, Algiers International Airport and the Algiers International Conference Center were all constructed by Chinese companies.

Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China's contributions go beyond infrastructure. During the construction of the East-West Highway, Chinese companies trained more than 16,000 Algerians to become skilled technicians.

"Young Algerian engineers who have accumulated experience and grown rapidly through long-term cooperation with their Chinese colleagues are highly skilled and represent the future of the construction industry in Algeria," said Mohamed Salah Kafi, head of the eastern region bureau in Algeria's National Highway Agency.

In June 2022, Tebboune attended the High-level Dialogue on Global Development chaired by President Xi, and Algeria joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative (GDI).

During Tebboune's visit to China, the two sides reached consensus on promoting cooperation in key areas under the framework of the GDI and accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In an interview with Xinhua, Basma Laboukh, an Algerian writer and political analyst, said the GDI is a valuable platform for international cooperation and a unique example of realizing common development.

The GDI aims to build a better world by overcoming challenges through collective strength, Laboukh said.