Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018 upgraded to Summit

Chinese authorities have announced an upgrade of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018 to a Summit, the third one after the Johannesburg Summit in 2015 and the Beijing Summit in 2006, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg, South Africa on December 5, 2015. [File photo: Xinhua]

"In order to respond to the strong needs by the South African side and the practical needs for the development between China and African countries, the ministerial conference of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is to be upgraded to a summit, and is to be held in China in 2018, " said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang on January 2, 2018.

"After 17 years' development, the Forum on China-African Cooperation has become an important and effective platform for dialogue between China and African countries," said Geng. "The effective implementation of the Action Plan on Johannesburg Summit has become a strong catalyst for the development between China and African countries," added Geng.

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is a set of ministerial conferences held every three years, with the first one held in October, 2000 in Beijing. The latest was held in 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"An array of action plans will be worked out in terms of commerce, security, culture and society between China and African countries during the Summit on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018," said Wang Lei with the African Research Center of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.