On July 23, President Xi Jinping held talks with Rwandan President Kagame in Kigali. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Pang Xinglei

China News Service, July 24. On the eve of the 2018 BRICS South Africa Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping embarked on a trip to Africa. This is Xi Jinping’s first overseas trip after being re-elected as president and Xi Jinping’s fourth visit to Africa in five years. Foreign media said that this visit highlights the importance China attaches to Africa and will enhance cooperation and connections between China and Africa in many aspects. At the same time, the “Belt and Road” initiative has also been extended to West Africa with Xi Jinping’s visit, and African countries will benefit a lot from the “Belt and Road” initiative.

On July 22, Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the Republic of Rwanda. This was the first visit to Rwanda by a Chinese president. During the visit, Xi Jinping held talks with Rwandan President Kagame, and the two sides also jointly witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents on the construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative.

Rwanda's "New Era" stated that Xi Jinping's visit will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in many aspects. Rwanda and China have reached cooperation agreements in various fields including visa policy, cultural exchanges, technology manufacturing, etc. In addition, the two parties also seek to cooperate in areas such as e-commerce, legal cooperation, and geological surveys.

China is a large direct investor in Rwanda, with actual investment of approximately US$352 million. In the past 12 years, Rwanda has completed 61 investment projects with the help of China. Currently, many Chinese investors are operating in Rwanda’s real estate, garments, mining and other fields. President Xi Jinping's visit to Rwanda will give Chinese investors confidence and encourage more people to invest here.

On July 22, President Xi Jinping and Senegalese President Sall attended the handover ceremony of the Senegalese competitive wrestling stadium project in Dakar. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ye

Before visiting Rwanda, Xi Jinping also paid a state visit to Senegal, which was also Xi Jinping's first visit to a West African country. According to the Senegalese National News Agency, during the visit, Senegal became the first West African country to sign a "Belt and Road" cooperation document with China. Senegalese President Sall also awarded Xi Jinping the Grand Cross of the Order of the National Order of the Lion, the country's highest honor.

With China's help, Senegal built Africa's first modern competitive wrestling stadium, which is China's largest aid project in Senegal. At the project handover ceremony, Xi Jinping handed over the "golden key" of the project to Sall.

Senegal's "Sun" stated that China is Senegal's largest source of financing, and projects such as the Fangjuni Bridge and the Jes-Touba Expressway financed by China will effectively promote Senegal's economic development.

President Sall stressed that Senegal positively evaluates China's role in Africa. "China has contributed to peace and stability in Africa," he said.

Regarding Xi Jinping's trip to Africa, the Russian Satellite News Agency published a commentary article saying that the "Belt and Road" extension to West Africa with Xi Jinping's visit means that this initiative is Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for China's participation in global governance.

The article pointed out that the current form of China’s foreign economic cooperation is almost all the “Belt and Road” model, because the “Belt and Road” has been widely recognized internationally. China and African countries are natural allies, and the Belt and Road Initiative is highly consistent with the African Union's Agenda 2063, and there is huge room for cooperation. West African countries, in particular, have been very active in responding to and supporting the Belt and Road Initiative in recent years.

The article believes that production capacity cooperation and infrastructure are the two major areas of the “Belt and Road” construction, and both of these aspects need to be implemented through strategic docking. Taking Senegal as an example, the country's government proposed a revitalization plan in 2014, including dozens of priority development projects including infrastructure construction, which is consistent with infrastructure connectivity in the priority areas of the "Belt and Road" construction. The strategic alignment between the two countries also includes mutual learning, which is an important part of the "Silk Road Spirit" (peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefit and win-win results). The development achievements of China's 40 years of reform and opening up have greatly inspired African countries, including Senegal, and learning from China's experience has become a consensus among African countries.