Interact with sincerity, and the path ahead will broade
2026-07-20
This planet is spacious enough to accommodate joint development and prosperity for all countries, and there is ample room for more people to gain tangible benefits from open cooperation.
Rwanda, located on the East African Plateau, is renowned for its high-spiciness and high-quality chili peppers. Hunanese people, who have a deep love for spicy food, find a perfect match with Rwandan chilies. With zero-tariff customs clearance and a “green channel” for instant approval, batches of Rwandan dried chilies arrive in the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Innovation Promotion Demonstration Park in Changsha, Hunan. After being processed into chili sauce in workshops, they are displayed on supermarket shelves across multiple provinces in China. African quality ingredients combined with China’s vast market create a thriving business model.
In the first five months of this year, China’s import and export trade with African countries reached 1.14 trillion yuan, breaking through the 1-trillion-yuan threshold for the first time in the same period of history, marking an 18.2% year-on-year growth. Today, fresh South African apples, Egyptian oranges, and Kenyan avocados are available on Chinese shelves, while China’s new energy vehicles and photovoltaic components are entering African markets. Over the past 70 years of diplomatic ties, despite various challenges, how has the path of China-Africa cooperation become ever broader?
Only through sincere interaction can mutual benefit and win-win results be achieved. Starting from May 1 this year, China has implemented a zero-tariff policy for all 53 African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations, becoming the first major economy to offer unilateral, comprehensive zero-tariff treatment to all African partner countries and all least developed countries with which it has diplomatic ties. With tariffs eliminated and customs clearance accelerated, the cost reduction is real, and the sincerity conveyed is tangible. Some might ask: What is the purpose of such significant concessions?
If a country’s foreign relations focus only on the “short-term account of interests,” the path will only become narrower. By abandoning zero-sum game thinking, we can expand the pie of development. The annual CIIE (China International Import Expo), the emergence of the Chain Expo, and the in-depth implementation of the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative demonstrate that China’s development is becoming an opportunity for all countries. Combining righteousness and profit, prioritizing righteousness, and exchanging short-term concessions for long-term trust—this calculation becomes clearer and clearer.
True friendship is built on sincerity. In Madagascar, a Chinese expert team successfully developed high-yield hybrid rice seeds suitable for local soil and climate. From breeding and seed production to planting, processing, and sales, Madagascar now has a complete hybrid rice industry chain. Locals affectionately call hybrid rice “Chalabe,” meaning “the best thing.” “Luban Workshops” launched in multiple African countries bring vocational skills directly to the doorstep, helping more young people master livelihood skills. True friends not only give fish but teach fishing—they help partners establish industries and master capabilities.
Win-win cooperation enables mutual growth. With the opening of the China-Laos Railway, Laos achieved a historic leap from a “land-locked country” to a “land-linked country,” while Chinese enterprises honed their tunnel construction technology along the railway, known as the “geological museum.” Looking globally, Chinese enterprises venturing into foreign markets have not only secured contracts and orders but also gained firsthand understanding of international rules and deep insights into diverse cultures. Cooperation is never a one-way gift; it is mutual achievement, with each party leveraging its strengths.
The ship of friendship can withstand storms. In 1971, 26 votes from African countries helped China restore its legal seat at the United Nations. After the resolution passed, many African representatives danced uncontrollably on the spot. This friendship is always cherished by the Chinese people. From building the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, establishing communication networks and hydropower stations, to continuously dispatching medical teams for over 60 years, and providing vaccines and supplies during the century-long pandemic—“True character is revealed in strong winds, and true gold in fire.” The enduring strength of China-Africa relations lies in both sides’ consistent adherence to the concept of authenticity, intimacy, sincerity, and friendship, never absent when the other side needed support most, forging unbreakable trust through actions.
Is other countries’ development a threat or an opportunity? Under the logic of zero-sum games, tariff barriers are piled up layer by layer. While seemingly protecting domestic industries, they actually raise product prices and burden consumers’ livelihoods. By actively lowering thresholds and allowing quality products from other countries into China’s market, consumers gain more choices; by helping other countries establish industries, development dividends can reach a broader population. This planet is spacious enough to accommodate joint development and prosperity for all countries, and there is ample room for more people to gain tangible benefits from open cooperation.
Opening the door wide will eventually reveal a bigger world. Sincere interaction and mutual achievement are the experiences forged over 70 years of China-Africa cooperation, but they are also the way countries should interact with each other. (From Looking at the New Era)
Edit:WENWEN Responsible editor:LINXUAN
Source:People's Daily Online - People's Daily
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