The new Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Hu Zhangliang informed journalists that he was posted here to pursue the Sino-Sierra Leone dream as both countries will be celebrating 48 years of excellent relationship.
Ambassador Hu Zhanliang said Sierra Leone is respected by China for what they did 48 years ago and that respect have seen China ready to work with the government of Sierra Leone to undertake economic and developmental projects that will be of immense value to the country.
“Recently I was with President Bio when the Juba Bridge was opened that was built by China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG) with funds from both countries. These are the kind of projects that China is looking forward to continue to work with the Government to achieve more of such projects,” he noted.
Ambassador Hu said China and Sierra Leone have always belonged to a community of shared future. Over the past five decades, they have always been good friends who stand together through thick and thin, good partners who share weal and woe, and good brothers who fully trust each other despite changes in the international landscape.
“China always adheres to the principles of its Sierra Leone policy — sincerity, practical results, affinity and good faith, upholds the values of friendship, justice and shared interests, and push for new leapfrog growth of its friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation with Sierra Leone. It never interferes in the internal affairs, never imposes its will on them, and attaches no political strings when providing aid to Sierra Leone.”
The Ambassador said in September 2019, President Xi Jinping announced “Eight Major Initiatives” for China-Africa cooperation at FOCAC Beijing Summit in the coming three and more years, namely, industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, health care, people-to-people exchange, and peace and security, depicted the blueprint for developing China-Africa cooperation in the new era.
“China has and will continue to create greater synergy with Sierra Leone, select cooperation fields and fully tap into the strengths of each other to effectively implement the FOCAC Beijing Summit outcomes.”
Talking on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Ambassador Hu Zhangliang said Although protectionism and unilateralism are mounting these days, China he said will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit and uphold its fundamental foreign policy goal of preserving world peace and promoting common development, and to forge a new form of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation, to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
He said Sierra Leone has signed up to the BRI and there will be more benefits for Sierra Leone in the near future.
“In autumn of 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed that jointly build the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI) to enhance both China’s development and its cooperation with global partners and focus on the future of human development. The BRI has yielded remarkable achievements and fruitful results since its inception six years ago, becoming an international cooperative platform with extensive participation and a popular public good in the world today.”
Ambassador Hu Zhangliang said all of this shows that Belt and Road cooperation is in sync with the times, widely supported, people-centered and beneficial to all. This year’s forum he said sends a clear message and more and more friends and partners will join the BRI, and the cooperation will enjoy higher quality and brighter prospects. The “Belt and Road” initiative originated in China, and the opportunities and achievements the Ambassador said belong to the world.
“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and over the past 70 years, under the strong and correct leadership of the communist party of China (CPC), the people have forged ahead as one in the last 70 years and made great strides that have truly impressed the world.
“Firstly, China’s economy has grown by epoch-making leaps and bounds and when China was founded in 1949, it was a poor and backward agricultural country. Today, China’s GDP totaled $12 trillion, accounting for about 15 percent of the world economy. China has become the world’s second largest economy, the largest industrial country, the largest trading nation of goods, the largest foreign exchange reserve country and top producer of more than 220 products.”
He said at present, China’s economy has shifted from high-speed growth to high-quality development. China has made major breakthroughs in high-tech fields such as manned spaceflight, lunar exploration, deep sea submersible, supercomputing, beidou navigation and quantum communication, and is at the world’s advanced level in high-speed rail, mobile communications and nuclear power.
“Secondly, living standards of the Chinese people have significantly improved. The Chinese people have emerged from scarcity to abundance and from poverty to moderate prosperity. With this, China realized the UN Millennium Development Goal as well as UN Sustainable Agenda for poverty reduction ahead of schedule.
“Between 1949 and 2018, China’s per capita GDP increased from 27 US Dollars to nearly 10,000 US Dollars. According to current UN standards, more than 700 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty. The largest middle-income grouping the world has been formed in China with a scale of over 400 million people.”
Ambassador Hu said China’s relations with the world have been transformed historically. The once closed and semi-closed country becomes one that opens up on all fronts.
“Today, China is a contributor to world economy. China’s contribution to the world economic growth has surpassed 30% for many years consecutively and it has been a key engine driving world economic growth. As the world’s largest developing country, China is a sincere friend and close partner of other developing countries. Through experience sharing, aid and personnel training, China has supported other developing countries in their fight against poverty.”
He rounded up by saying that as of today; China has provided nearly 400 billion Yuan in development aid to more than 160 countries and international organizations, and as of the end of 2017, China’s foreign direct investment stock was 1.8 trillion US dollars, ranking second in the world.
