Li Qiang Meets with DRC President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo

On the afternoon of May 26, 2023, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council met at the Great Hall of the People with President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who was in China for a state visit.

Li Qiang said that China and the DRC are good friends, good partners and good brothers. On the journey to achieve national development and revitalization, the two sides have always supported and trusted each other, and treated each other as equals with sincerity and friendship. Li Qiang noted that President Xi Jinping would hold talks with President Tshisekedi to jointly draw a new blueprint for the development of China-DRC relations. He expressed confidence that under the strategic guidance and personal commitment of the two heads of state, China-DRC relations will definitely achieve greater development and better benefit the two peoples. China is ready to work with the DRC to seek greater synergy between their development strategies, stay committed to mutual benefit and win-win results, openness and cooperation, create and share development opportunities together, jointly promote the development and prosperity of both countries, and make positive contributions to the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

Li Qiang pointed out that China is ready to work with the DRC to continuously elevate bilateral practical cooperation to higher levels. To this end, the two sides should stay focused on advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, make good use of the cooperation and coordination mechanisms between the two sides including the Intergovernmental Economic and Trade Mixed Committee, think out of the box, and further tap into their potential. The two sides should further expand cooperation in trade and investment, strengthen cooperation in infrastructure construction, mining, and other traditional areas, and actively explore and foster new growth drivers for cooperation in such fields as agriculture, finance, new energy, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Li Qiang expressed the hope that the DRC will provide a fair and just business environment for Chinese enterprises to invest in the DRC, and better ensure the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and institutions in the DRC. China is ready to work with the DRC to continue supporting each other, and jointly take extensive and substantial measures to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. China will further strengthen solidarity and cooperation with the DRC and other African countries, support the implementation of the African Union's Agenda 2063, and back Africa's efforts to achieve post-pandemic economic recovery and sustainable development.

Noting that last year marked the 50th anniversary of the normalization of DRC-China relations, Tshisekedi said the past 50 years featured friendly cooperation between the two countries. Symbols of DRC-China friendship can be seen everywhere in the DRC. The DRC highly cherishes its cooperation with China, and stands ready to learn from China's experience in achieving leapfrog development. The DRC will work with China to further deepen cooperation in such fields as agriculture, mining, industry and infrastructure construction, consolidate the friendship between the two peoples, forge an unbreakable DRC-China partnership, and usher in a new five decades of DRC-China relations. The DRC is ready to work with China to jointly uphold the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and jointly respond to climate change and other global challenges.