A high-level meeting on state governance of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept 5, 2024. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame co-chaired the meeting. [Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]

BEIJING -- Chinese and African leaders on Thursday called for enhanced cooperation on state governance at a high-level meeting held during the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

China's top legislator Zhao Leji and Rwandan President Paul Kagame co-chaired the meeting.

Zhao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee, said President Xi Jinping's speech at the summit has opened a new chapter in the China-Africa joint efforts to lead modernization in the Global South.

Zhao emphasized the importance of drawing wisdom from the China-Africa traditional friendship.

He called for supporting each other in exploring development paths suited to their own national conditions, and sharing the outcomes and experience of deepening reforms, expanding opening-up, promoting development and improving livelihoods.

He also proposed the establishment of a platform within the FOCAC framework for exchanging state governance experience between China and Africa.

African leaders at the meeting expressed the hope for strengthening exchanges with China on state governance experience, and carrying out mutually beneficial cooperation across various sectors.

A high-level meeting on state governance of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept 5, 2024. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame co-chaired the meeting. [Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]

Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee, addresses a high-level meeting on state governance of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept 5, 2024. Zhao and Rwandan President Paul Kagame co-chaired the meeting. [Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]

Rwandan President Paul Kagame speaks at a high-level meeting on state governance of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept 5, 2024. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of China’s National People's Congress Standing Committee, and Kagame co-chaired the meeting. [Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]