Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao addresses the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh November 8, 2009. [Xinhua]

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Sunday that cooperation between China and Africa had made great progress and was now in a new chapter nine years after the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was established.

"Since its founding nine years ago, FOCAC has played a major role in guiding and promoting the development of China-Africa relations and become a bridge of friendship and a platform of cooperation between China and Africa," Wen observed at the opening ceremony of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of FOCAC, which will last two days in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

He said in the three years since the Beijing Summit, the two sides had worked together to build a new strategic partnership featuring political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation and cultural exchanges.

"Together, we have opened a new chapter in China-Africa cooperation," Wen announced in his speech.

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Wen added that China and Africa had enhanced their political mutual trust, having enjoyed more frequent high-level exchanges and stepped up diplomatic consultations and strategic dialogues.

Noting that African countries had provided China with even stronger support on issues concerning its core interests, Wen said China and Africa had cooperated with each other on major international and regional issues and jointly safeguarded and expanded the common interests of developing countries.

China-Africa economic cooperation and trade had increased greatly, Wen remarked. He continued by saying that China-Africa trade had exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, while the number of African countries trading with China had grown to 53.

He added that China had begun construction of six economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa. Nearly 1,600 Chinese enterprises had started businesses in African countries with a direct investment stock of 7.8 billion dollars. Project contracting and labor services cooperation between the two sides had been expanding, and financial cooperation was also gaining momentum.

Wen stressed that China's increased assistance to Africa had produced practical results.

"Despite the impact of the international financial crisis and the many difficulties we face at home, we have honored the commitments we made at the Beijing Summit in an all-round way," he said.

Wen was referring to the assistance commitments made in the eight measures announced at the 2006 Beijing Summit of FOCAC, aimed at pushing forward China-Africa cooperation.

According to Wen, China's assistance to Africa had doubled. The plan to cancel 168 debts owed by 33 African countries was near completion. The 5 billion dollars of concessional loans would be fully in place soon. The China-Africa Development Fund, whose first tranche reached 1 billion dollars, had become operational as scheduled. These measures had not only enhanced Africa's capacity for self-development, but also helped African countries in their efforts to counter the financial crisis.

China and Africa had also witnessed vigorous people-to-people exchanges, said Wen, noting that exchanges and cooperation between China and Africa in culture, education, health and human resources training had been growing rapidly.

He promised that by the end of this year, China would train a total of 15,000 personnel of different professions for African countries. Interaction among youth and women, sister provinces and cities had been more frequent.

"All these developments have led to deeper mutual understanding and stronger traditional friendship between China and Africa," Wen concluded.

The Chinese premier arrived in Egypt on Friday for an official visit to the country and to attend the FOCAC ministerial meeting.