The Chinese government has invited five African nations, which do not have
diplomatic ties with China, to participate in the Forum on China-Africa
Cooperation (FOCAC) as the observers, organizers of the forum said Wednesday.
"The FOCAC is a mechanism between China and those African countries with
diplomatic ties with China," Xu Jinghu, who is in charge of Africa Department of
Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a briefing on FOCAC.
Ministerial-level delegations are invited as observers to the summit, Xu
said.
The five countries include Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Malawi, Gambia, Sao Tome
and Principe.
"China extended the invitation to those countries to show the integrity of
the African continent," Xu said.
The invitation was also based on the practices of the earlier two FOCAC
ministerial conferences, she said.
"As the registration deadline has not passed, it is still unknown whether
these countries will accept the offer," Xu said.
By now China has maintained diplomatic ties with 48 African countries.
Scheduled for November 3-5, the summit, also the 3rd Ministerial Conference
of the FOCAC, will focus on the subjects of "friendship, peace, cooperation and
development".
The summit will be the highest-level, largest-scale meeting between China and
African leaders since the founding of the People's Republic of China, according
to Chinese Foreign Ministry.
FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly
established by China and Africa to cope with new challenges and facilitate
common development.
Since the launch of the FOCAC in 2000, two ministerial conferences have been
held in Beijing and Addis Ababa.
