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Xi calls for upgrade to China-Gabon ties in talks with ‘old friend’ Bongo
- The Gabonese president is in Beijing seeking support for a development plan that will reduce his country’s oil dependence
- Underpinning the strategy is creation of a sustainable industry based on the lush forests covering most of the country
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President Xi Jinping called for ties between China and Gabon to be elevated when he met the African nation’s leader Ali Bongo Ondimba in Beijing on Wednesday.
“The strong and sustained growth of bilateral ties between our two countries serves our common long-term interests and has an exemplary role to play in building a community with a shared future for mankind,” Xi said during the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Describing Bongo as “an old friend”, the Chinese president called for the relationship to be upgraded to “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” level.
Observers said Bongo would focus on the economy in his meetings with Chinese officials and seek China’s help to diversify the economy of his tiny country on the Central African west coast.
Bongo – who arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for the four-day visit – is expected to seek funding for the “Emerging Gabon 2025” development plan that aims to reduce the country’s dependence on oil and minerals.
Kenyan journalist Jevans Nyabiage is the South China Morning Post's first Africa correspondent. Based in Nairobi, Jevans keeps an eye on China-Africa relations and also Chinese investments, ranging from infrastructure to energy and metal, on the continent.
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