Shanghai welcomes President of the Democratic Republic of Congo to expand China-Congo cooperation

Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining met with the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, on Saturday.

On behalf of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, the Municipal Government and the people of Shanghai, Chen warmly welcomed President Tshisekedi's visit.

He said that President Xi Jinping and President Tshisekedi held important talks in Beijing, announcing the promotion of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and making top-level plans and clear strategic directions for the development of China-Congo relations.

Shanghai, as the economic center of China and a forefront window of reform and opening up, is deepening high-level opening up and striving for high-quality development in accordance with the grand blueprint of modernization outlined at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Shanghai is accelerating the construction of a modern economic system, continuously fulfilling the people's yearning for a better life with new achievements in urban construction. Under the guidance of the strategic directions of the heads of state of both countries, Shanghai will further tap its advantages, actively build platforms, expand cooperation space in the fields of economic and trade investment, and promote personnel exchanges and cultural exchanges between localities of the two countries.

Shanghai welcomes more Congolese enterprises to participate in the sixth China International Import Expo. Shanghai will fully create a first-class market-oriented, rule-of-law, and internationalized business environment, providing better services for Congolese enterprises in Shanghai, and making greater contributions to the development of China-Congo relations at the local level.

President Tshisekedi expressed his sincere admiration for China's great achievements in development and thanked the Chinese side for its warm and friendly reception. He said that the friendly cooperation between Congo and China has stood the test of time and achieved rich results, and the two countries' traditional friendship has grown stronger over time.

The promotion of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership will be a new starting point, learning from China's successful development experiences and practices, further expanding cooperation space, enhancing cooperation level, continuously deepening practical cooperation in various fields such as infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, shipping and trade to benefit the people of both countries.