Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 8 (Reporter): On January 8, 2026, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the opening ceremony of the 2026 "China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges".
Xi Jinping pointed out that holding the "Year of People-to-People Exchanges" on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Africa is an important consensus reached between him and African leaders, and an important measure to further promote China-Africa friendship at a new historical starting point.
Xi Jinping emphasized that exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations are an inexhaustible driving force for the progress of human civilization and world peace and development. For thousands of years, the two great civilizations of China and Africa have complemented each other, becoming the historical and intellectual source of China-Africa friendship.
Xi Jinping pointed out that he hopes both sides will take the "Year of People-to-People Exchanges" as an opportunity to carry forward traditional friendship, strengthen mutual learning among civilizations, enhance people-to-people exchanges, especially youth exchanges, deepen exchanges of experience in governance, work together to promote modernization, and promote mutual understanding, shared feelings, and concerted efforts among the more than 2.8 billion Chinese and African people, so as to make new China-Africa contributions to the global South's efforts to unite in addressing global challenges, promoting common values of all mankind, and building a community with a shared future for mankind.
