Youth represents hope of China-Africa cooperation

 BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhuanet) -- As the dynamics 1 of the China-Africa friendship, Chinese and African youth should strengthen exchanges and learn from each other to promote common development, delegates to the second China-Africa Young Leaders Forum 2 agreed.

Under the theme of “Africa-China Cooperation and Youth Development”, the two-day forum, which opened on Monday and brought together more than 200 delegates from 38 African countries, conforms to the great momentum 3 of strengthened China-Africa cooperation.
In his speech at the forum, Abdelmouniem Elsuni Ahmed Abdullah, Youth Secretary of NCP from Sudan, hailed the role of the youth in promoting prosperous development.
“The youth are the benefactors 4 of the destiny of the world ahead of them, and hence they have a role in contributing to ensure a prosperous and harmonious 5 world for themselves and their future generations,” he said.
Abdullah added that China supports African countries with economic and technical support and as the youth leaders in Africa, they want to find out how China develops. “This is a good opportunity to know the wisdom of China, and good plan which leads the Chinese society to be in the top.”
Akol Paul Kordit, Political Bureau member of SPLM from South Sudan, held that young Africans can learn from young Chinese in the way of life; also the young Chinese can learn from the young Africans.
“The young people from the two regions are the mechanism 6 to translate the relationship and friendship between China and Africa into people-to-people relationship, because young people play an important role in terms of campaigning, dissemination 7 of information, public mobilization,” Kordit told Xinhuanet. “If young people are involved in the process, it brought on board the entire public of two regions.”
Kordit was clear that China’s rapid development did not come out of blue. It came as the result of a hard-working people, their commitment and determination. “You’re hard-working nation, determined 8, committed, and believing in yourself. These are the values that actually contribute to the fast development of China,” he emphasized.
“Africa got huge natural resources but unutilized. So I think Chinese technology could be exploited in terms of exploiting the natural resources of Africa and making them beneficiary to human being in Africa as well as in China,” Kordit said.
When asked about how to strengthen the understanding between the youth, Axel Jesson Denis Ayenoue from Gabon told Xinhuanet that there should be more exchanges between them. "It you want to know somebody else’s culture, you become part of it. We want to become part of China as we want China to become part of Africa."
“There are a lot of students studying in China and when they return to Gabon, they are good professional people,” added Ayenoue.
Stressing that China’s economic development model is an example for Africa to follow, but to follow wisely, Ayenoue said, "China is developing according to its own reality, that’s what China is teaching to the rest of the world."
“If you want to be developed, you have to do it through your own ways regarding to your own reality. Your must not just copy just how Chinese did. That’s what Chinese are teaching the world. That’s how China grows up, not by following one obsolescent 9 theory, but by dealing 10 with its own reality,” Ayenoue said.
Wynter Kabimba, Secretary of General, Patriotic 11 Front of Zambia, noted 12 that China has set a clear example for the world that social and economic development is within the reach of every country including those of Africa.
“China is, therefore, a beacon 13 of hope outside the traditional development models so far prescribed for Africa. It is this development path which makes China relevant to Africa today,” Kabimba said.
Stephen Bwansa from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)?always thinks of the future when he says about the young. “I think that youth is the hope of tomorrow. If we want to consolidate 14 China-Africa relations, youth is the key," he told Xinhuanet, adding, "what we see from the young people is the closer cooperation and solid friendship, which will promote peace and consolidate development."
The China-Africa Young Leaders Forum was launched in Windhoek, Namibia in 2011.
The current forum is taking place before the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).