Wu Peng, director of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: To tell the Chinese story well, we must do a good job in China

Wuzhen, September 26 ( China News Service ) On September 26, the "2021 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit – Global Anti-epidemic and International Communication Forum" hosted by China News Service was held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province. Wu Peng, director of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in his speech that in order to tell the Chinese story well, we must do a good job in China's affairs, especially in Africa. In Africa, more than half of the wireless websites and broadband networks are built with Chinese participation, and our fiber optics in Africa are 200,000 kilometers. "We do our own thing well, this thing is not something you say you can attack and smear."

On the afternoon of September 26, the "2021 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit – Global Anti-epidemic and International Communication Forum" hosted by China News Service was held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, and Wu Peng, Director General of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attended the forum and delivered a speech. China News Service reporter Han Haidan photographed

The following is an excerpt from the speech:

I may not know much about Africa here, nor may I be interested, but I would like to say that under this major change that has not occurred in a hundred years, who could have predicted that africa in a few decades will not become a more important partner for China's opening up to the outside world? Can't it be more important to China than Europe? Not necessarily. We all know that the traditional friendship between China and Africa was born in our movement to support the struggle for national liberation in Africa, but in today's China, a new chapter has been written between China and Africa, and we are even more firmly supportive in international affairs.

How to tell the Chinese story well in Africa and improve the landing effect of our international communication power, my colleagues and I have been working hard to explore, and I would like to share it with you.

First of all, I think that in order to tell the Chinese story well, we must do a good job in China, especially in Africa. Our theme today is "Fighting the Epidemic", and since last year, we have achieved full coverage of all African countries in the process of donating anti-epidemic materials. This year, actually in February, we have launched vaccine assistance to African countries (and, of course, in other directions) in a humanitarian spirit. However, in the international community, especially some media, they always question the original intention of China's donations, and even call it "vaccine diplomacy".

A reporter from an internationally renowned news agency once interviewed me, and he said that if you look at Africa, why don't you aid all of them, but this and that? What considerations and factors did you make it for? Of course, he asked very politely. I said that in fact, as the director of the Africa Division, in my daily work, it is true that I only consider who has raised the need for vaccines, whether there are countries that have given us access to the Chinese vaccine, whether I have the ability to find such resources with my work, and I said that I did not consider other geopolitical factors. Of course, he will not report my answer, because it is not his correct answer.

In China's African affairs, there are now some comments of one kind or another. For example, debt traps, such as the "theory of doing business with China", and even former US President Trump said that China's "win win" is China's win twice, and this narrative does have a certain market in Africa.

I don't think I have to mind too much, because what we're doing in Africa is something real that can be seen and touched, not by me, but because when the American expert on African issues interviewed me, he himself said it. He said that what China is doing in Africa, I can make a long list every day, and I can't finish it.

Well, some other countries are always stuck in a long list of promises, slogans, and I think we have an advantage in this. For example, at our Internet Conference today, in Africa, more than half of the wireless websites and broadband networks are built by China, and our fiber optic laying mileage in Africa is 200,000 kilometers. I think we do our own thing well, this thing is not what you say you can attack, can smear and smear.

Some countries say that we have money, we have technology, and Chinese companies do it by improper means. As I said just now, the laying of Internet sites requires Chinese technicians and African friends to drill ravines together, one kilometer, one kilometer. For example, our infrastructure, our bridges, in Africa is not to say who we force, who to put a gun on the head of to say that we want to give this project to us, but rely on our excellent technology, and this has a certain inevitability.

For example, in some old developed countries, it may be 30 years, 50 years, it has not built a bridge itself, where to find his designers, engineers, skilled workers? I've been in Africa to see some other projects in our neighboring countries, like Japan, very serious, very dedicated, but the people working there are over 60 years old, and the young people are no longer out, so how can it be as fast and good as our experienced engineers in China, with Africans?

I went to Zhoushan yesterday, like the island chain of the Zhoushan Islands is connected by various bridges, so we do our own thing well, and at the same time, we can't let others slander it.

Therefore, we must also tell the Story of China well. In this Internet age, it is often a very shallow and fast concept, which flashes by and is constantly repeated, so some wrong ideas are burned in the minds of others, so we must use deeper and more solid things to counter.

For example, coal power in Africa, the West always attacks us for developing coal power in Africa, in fact, you ask how many coal power there are? Can't say it. We can tell him that there are only two coal power projects in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and that they are before 2019, and that China has not participated in any coal power projects in Africa after 2020.

I often encourage Chinese companies in Africa to stand up and talk about China, which is not easy, there are cultural reasons, but also language difficulties. In fact, one of the biggest difficulties in our international communication is language. Because it's the age of social media, if China can't tell stories in their language, you'll have fewer listeners.

Of course, once I was with an American scholar on African issues, and he interviewed me in English for an hour, and I told him, I'm tired, and you're still complaining that Chinese officials don't give interviews, which is unfair, at least a cultural injustice. I said, I hope that in the future, more Western scholars and journalists will be able to talk about Chinese. Of course, complaining is useless, we only have to tell the Chinese story well through everyone's efforts, and really tell a fact on social media, not that Everything in China is so beautiful in Africa, we have our shortcomings, we also admit it, but this is a trouble in growth.

Finally, I think that to tell the Story of China well, we must also tell the story of Africa. In fact, there is also a relatively big misunderstanding of Africa in our country, for example, we China only throw money in Africa, as if it is only unilateral aid, not like this. Imagine how we have nearly a million Chinese, 4,000 large-scale companies in Africa, and if they are not driven by economic interests, how can they work there? I can't go out of my way to say that we're Africa's largest trading partner for 12 consecutive years.

So in these aspects, I also feel very sorry, sometimes some Western media narrative, it not only affects China, but also affects some of our Chinese views on Africa. Recently we often talk about the origin of the virus, some Chinese compatriots also feel that AIDS comes from Africa, in fact, as far as I know, it was first discovered in the 1980s in an international metropolis of North America in the gay population, and I don't know how it happened, so they planted it on monkeys in the African jungle.

Therefore, this sinister intention has indeed caused a great misunderstanding of Our China's understanding of Africa, which is why we are firmly opposed to politicization and stigmatization on the issue of the traceability of the new crown virus today. Time is limited, I can not start talking, but I also hope that friends from all walks of life here will pay more attention to Africa and support China-Africa cooperation! Thank you!

Source: China News Network