Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio Meets with Yang Jiechi

On December 6, 2021 local time, Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio met with Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi in Freetown.

Yang Jiechi conveyed President Xi Jinping's sincere greetings to President Bio. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Sierra Leone, Yang Jiechi said, President Xi Jinping had a phone conversation and exchanged congratulatory messages with President Bio, reaching important consensus on consolidating political mutual trust and deepening cooperation in various fields. At the just-concluded Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), President Xi Jinping made important proposals on building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era and announced a series of major initiatives, demonstrating China's sincere willingness to further strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries. China is willing to work with Sierra Leone to implement the initiatives of the forum, align the outcomes of the conference with Sierra Leone's demand for development, and further boost cooperation in such fields as COVID-19 response, agriculture, fishery, education, and infrastructure, helping Sierra Leone fight against the pandemic and recover its economy. China is willing to further deepen coordination and cooperation with Sierra Leone in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations, safeguard the common interests of China and Africa, as well as developing countries at large, and jointly defend multilateralism and norms governing international relations.

Bio asked Yang Jiechi to convey his best wishes to President Xi Jinping and extended warm congratulations on the successful convening of the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee. He said, China has made significant contributions to world peace and development, setting an example for developing countries. Sierra Leone firmly backs the one-China policy and supports the Beijing Olympic Winter Games. Sierra Leone and China have fostered profound traditional friendship and solid political mutual trust, with fruitful results in cooperation and broad development prospects. Sierra Leone thanks China for giving it strong support at critical moments, including the fight against Ebola and COVID-19. Sierra Leone warmly welcomes the new initiatives on China-Africa cooperation announced by President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the FOCAC. Sierra Leone stands ready to actively advance the bilateral cooperation within the framework of the FOCAC, further beef up coordination on multilateral affairs, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of China and Africa, as well as developing countries at large.

On the same day, Yang Jiechi also met with Sierra Leonean Foreign Minister David Francis.