On July 25, 2025, the 5th China-Africa Future Leaders' Dialogue Symposium on Green Development, themed "China-Africa Youth Hand in Hand to Promote Eco-Friendly Modernization", was successfully held in Jinhua, Zhejiang. Lu Xiangdong, Vice President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC); Zhang Jian, Deputy Secretary of the Jinhua Municipal Committee and Mayor of Jinhua; Xing Huidong, Executive Vice President of Zhejiang Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; and Hodan Osman Abdi, Somali Ambassador to China, attended the symposium and delivered remarks. Nearly 100 participants attended the symposium, including invited youth representatives from China and Africa, heads of relevant departments in Jinhua, African youth representatives in Jinhua, and experts in ecology and environmental protection, as well as journalists from various media outlets.
Vice President Lu Xiangdong stated that this year marks the beginning of implementing the outcomes from the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the 20th anniversary of the proposal of the concept "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets". Green development is a historical inheritance of the excellent traditional cultures of China and Africa, a practical necessity for the transformation and upgrading of economic industries, and an inevitable choice for building a better future together. The CPAFFC will continue to build more bridges of friendship, encouraging China-Africa youth to inherit and promote the traditional China-Africa friendship, and contribute to the building of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
Mayor Zhang Jian introduced the basic conditions of Jinhua and its achievements in China-Africa exchanges and cooperation. He emphasized that this event serves not only as an important platform for promoting global ecological civilization but also as a tangible step towards building the new era of a comprehensive China-Africa community with a shared future. He expressed his hope that young people become pioneers in serving the modernization efforts of China and Africa, continuously injecting new momentum into the development of China-Africa relations and contributing to a new chapter in China-Africa friendship.
Youth representatives from the All-Africa Students Union, Tsinghua University, and Chinese and African youth from universities in Jinhua shared their experiences and insights on three key topics: establishing a green concept for ecological friendliness, injecting green momentum into China-Africa cooperation, and spreading green hope for world peace. They unanimously expressed the commitment to adopting the shared vision of lucid waters and lush mountains, pursuing innovative practices as the path forward, and working hand in hand to advance green development. The collective goal is to contribute youthful wisdom and energy to the promotion of global sustainable development.
The China-Africa Future Leaders' Dialogue is a mechanism established by the CPAFFC in 2021 under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The 5th China-Africa Future Leaders' Dialogue Symposium on Green Development was hosted by the CPAFFC, with the Zhejiang Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Jinhua Municipal People's Government as co-organizers. Prior to the symposium, participating Chinese and African youth visited high-tech enterprises, breeding innovation bases, health towns, beautiful villages, and new energy product markets in Jinhua, and gained through the process a deep understanding of China's green transformation model and achievements within the context of modernization with Chinese characteristics in the new era.
