SHANGHAI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Government officials and experts from China and African countries discussed poverty reduction and production capacity cooperation at a conference that opened here on Tuesday.
On the first day of the Africa-China Poverty Reduction and Development Conference, more than 150 participants including representatives from nongovernmental organizations and enterprises from China and 14 African countries like Mauritius, South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique and Togo, also shared experience in industrial development while talking about ways to deepen China-Africa exchange and cooperation in anti-poverty efforts.
The conference is an important sub-forum under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Attending the conference were also representatives from international institutions such as the United Nations Development Program, the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States.
In his opening remarks made at the conference, senior Chinese official Hong Tianyun highlighted measures China will adopt to lift all those Chinese still living below China's current poverty line out of poverty by 2020.
He also expressed China's willingness to help other developing countries, in particular African countries, in reducing poverty.
"We will work closely with the 1.1 billion African people" for joint development to promote the economic integration and sustainable development of Africa and build an Africa-China community with a common future free of poverty, said Hong, deputy director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development of China, which co-sponsored the conference.
In his speech, Pradeep Roopun, Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment of Mauritius, voiced his confidence in China's capability to help in Africa's socioeconomic transformation, citing its practical approach, flexible policy, advanced technology and investment.
During the conference's next two days to come, African participants are scheduled to have dialogues with Chinese businesses on production capacity cooperation and visit local enterprises. Enditem