China and Africa stand on a firm foundation of trust and confidence as the two sides have witnessed accelerated cooperation in recent years, said Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin on Friday.

While addressing the opening ceremony of the third ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Seyoum said China has given Africa a lot of support in the fight against colonialism and for independence and scrupulously observed principles of international law governing inter-state relations.

Seyoum said that is the reason "why this forum has made such a progress and why on the African side there are full commitments to making the process a resounding success." Ethiopia is the FOCAC's co-chair country.

FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly established by China and Africa in 2000 to cope with new challenges and facilitate common development. The second ministerial conference was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2003.

After the ministerial meeting, a summit of the FOCAC, which attracts 48 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China, will open on Saturday with the theme of "friendship, peace, cooperation and development".

The forum's elevation to a summit level "is a demonstration of the commitment of both sides to the further expansion of the cooperation between Africa and China...It is an affirmation of the conviction on the part of both that the consolidation of the process is in the interest of both China and Africa," said Seyoum.

Since the ministerial forum was launched six years ago, China and Africa have carried out cooperation in areas including trade, investment and human resources, said Seyoum. "It has also created close coordination between the two sides on international issues,”he added.

"The last three years have witnessed an accelerated growth in the volume of trade between Africa and China. The potential in this area is enormous," said the president.

Trade volume between Africa and China rocketed to 39.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 after breaking the mark of 10 billion dollars in 2000.

China has forgiven debts of 10.9 billion yuan (1. 38 billion U.S. dollars) by 31 heavily indebted poor countries and least developed countries in Africa and extended zero-tariff treatment to some imports from Africa.

Seyoum also encouraged more "people-to-people" relations between Africa and China, saying "there is no better way ensuring the sustainability of a partnership than ensuring that it is rooted in people-to-people relations."