Shared future for mankind

"Both sides have also achieved mutual economic benefits from cooperation and are contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," he said.

Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, China and Africa have ensured that their cooperation continues to develop rapidly. In the wake of COVID-19, both sides will pay more attention to sustainable, high-quality development, Tang said.

"China and Africa have built many prominent projects over the past few years, and I think that in the following years, both sides will learn from these experiences and consider more about how to improve the efficiency and performance of these projects in order to achieve sustainable and high-quality development," he said.

He said that with China's rapid progress in the fields of the digital economy and green energy, such experiences can inject more impetus into China-Africa cooperation.

Zhang Jianping, the director-general of the Institute of West Asia and Africa at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, part of the Ministry of Commerce, said the conference will further build a strategic consensus and chart a course for high-quality development.

With China and African countries sharing the status of developing economies, their collaboration is of great significance for the promotion of global cooperation and for efforts to fight the pandemic while encouraging sustainable development in the world. Of high importance is cooperation in sectors including infrastructure, agriculture and public health, Zhang said.

"China's capital, technology, products and equipment are playing an increasingly important role in promoting Africa's development," he said. "China is also importing a large number of agricultural products and preliminarily processed products from African countries, boosting their economies."

Hisham AbuBakr Metwally, a researcher at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry, voices the hope that the ministerial meeting will focus on industrialization, especially for technology transfers to Africa. This deficit has been "the main challenge for the continent for decades", Metwally said.

Clayton Hazvinei Vhumbunu, a senior program coordinator at the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences in Johannesburg, South Africa, said he expects discussions on the tangible benefits of nations working together under the Belt and Road Initiative.