China-Africa research center inaugurated in South Africa

PRETORIA, South Africa, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The inauguration ceremony of the China-Africa Institute -- the South Africa China-Africa Research Center and a seminar on "The Global South Working Together to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity" were held Tuesday at South Africa's National School of Government (NSG) in Pretoria, the country's administrative capital.

This photo taken on Aug. 10, 2023 shows the view of Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo: Xinhua)

Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Peng Jinhui, NSG Acting Principal Phindile Mkwanazi, and Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng jointly unveiled the plaque of the center.

Peng highlighted the inauguration of the center as a concrete step to implement the outcomes of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit and an important achievement in deepening academic cooperation between China and South Africa and between China and Africa.

He called on both sides to leverage the center to strengthen joint research, academic exchanges, policy dialogue, personnel exchanges and cooperation among young scholars, and to continuously produce solid research outcomes.

The center should become an important platform rooted in South Africa, serving Africa and connecting China, providing intellectual support for deepening China-South Africa and China-Africa cooperation and advancing common modernization among the Global South, Peng added.

Mkwanazi said the inauguration marks a new starting point for deepening cooperation and translating the center's research into tangible outcomes, adding that the NSG looks forward to further strengthening exchanges and cooperation with its Chinese partners through the center and contributing more to public governance and national development.

Wu noted that amid profound changes in the global landscape, China and Africa should strengthen research and academic exchanges to better safeguard the common interests and legitimate development rights of developing countries.

He expressed hope that the center would facilitate mutual learning on governance and development, respect and support African countries in exploring development paths suited to their national conditions, and leverage its platform to produce high-quality research, contributing to closer China-South Africa and China-Africa cooperation.

Following the inauguration ceremony, participating experts and scholars held discussions on topics including modernization among the Global South, exchanges of governance experience between China and Africa, and the development of manufacturing in the era of artificial intelligence.