February 4, 2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of the Sudan. Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin publishes a signature article in the People’s Daily titled 60-Year Fruitful Partnership Paves the Way to a Brighter Future. The full text is as follows:
February 4, 2019 is a very important date as it marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of the Sudan. Over the past six decades, China-Sudan relationship has yielded fruitful results. It witnessed a momentous journey that the two nations have travelled together and will pave the way to a brighter future in the next six decades.
Though China and Sudan are located respectively on the Asian and African continents and thousands of miles apart, they both boast a long history and splendid culture of their own and their peoples have forged a long-lasting bond of friendship. Just as the magnificent Yangtze River and Yellow River have witnessed the 5000-year-long Chinese civilization, the Blue and White Niles, considered locally to be as long as the silver river, are treasured as the cradle of pyramid civilization. China, known for the Great Wall that extends thousands of miles, and Sudan, symbolized by the thousand-year-old Merowe Pyramid, were closely linked long ago by the ancient maritime and land silk roads. Similar historical experience and increasingly broad common interest have bound the two nations together. Since the two sides established diplomatic relations on February 4, 1959, the bilateral relations have remained sound and stable and grown firmer as time goes by. China and Sudan are sincere friends, good brothers and close partners that treat and support each other on an equal footing to achieve win-win results.
The 60-year-long political cooperation shows that a partnership forged with the right approach defies geographic distance. In the past six decades, China and Sudan have maintained close high-level exchanges and frequent interactions at political party, military and other levels. The two countries always supporting and collaborating with each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns makes their mutual political trust stronger. In the 1960s, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai paid his first and historic visits to ten African countries including Sudan. His visits are hailed as a ground-breaking journey of establishing the new type China-Africa relations in PRC’s diplomatic history, and mark the beginning of China-Sudan relations. In recent years, the two heads of state had several meetings that provide strategic guidance about the bilateral relations. In September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir jointly announced the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Sudan, ushering in a new stage in the history of China-Sudan relationship. Three years later, in September 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang met respectively with Sudanese President Bashir during the period when he attended the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in China. The important consensus reached by them charted the course for future development of China-Sudan relations. The five high-level dialogues between the governing parties of China and Sudan that have taken place so far enhance exchanges and mutual learning in state governance between the two sides.
The 60-year-long economic cooperation shows that economies make win-win progress through exchange and inter-connectivity. The fact that Chinese and Sudanese economies are highly complementary means that their economic cooperation has huge potential. China has remained as the largest trading partner and investor of Sudan and the country contracting the highest percentage of its projects. Seen as a trailblazer and a shining example in fostering China-Africa cooperation, China-Sudan practical cooperation provides a paradigm for “South-South Cooperation”. Bilateral cooperation in economic, trade, energy, health, agriculture and other areas have yielded fruitful and remarkable results. Through oil cooperation dating back to the mid-1990s that is hailed as a model of China-Sudan cooperation, China has helped Sudan build a complete oil industry chain that integrates oil and gas exploration, exploitation, oil refining, chemical engineering and trade, creating a new pattern of win-win cooperation and development. Moreover, China-Sudan cooperation in agricultural and mining areas has emerged as a new growth driver to boost their practical cooperation. Under the new model whereby Chinese enterprises and local farmers collaborated in planting cotton in the China-Sudan agricultural development zone, the cotton planting area has reached 133.33 square kilometers, benefiting 150,000 Sudanese farmers. The Merowe Dam built by the Chinese enterprise earns a reputation as Sudan’s version of Three Gorges. The Office of President and the Friendship Hall built with China’s assistance have become landmark buildings in Sudan. Regarding medical assistance, China has so far sent approximately 1,000 medical workers in 34 groups to Sudan since 1971. As the true follower of the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, the Chinese medical assistance groups to Sudan have treated 8.22 million patients. Their “Brightness Action” projects have enabled 1,382 local cataract patients, including the oldest patient aged 101, to regain their sight.
The 60-year-long cultural cooperation shows that countries need to treasure their own distinct heritages, appreciate other cultures and promote shared prosperity. Culture and education create a bond of friendship between the two peoples. The Sudan Acrobatics Troupe, the first of its kind in African and Arab countries that was set up with the personal attention from Premier Zhou Enlai, is extoled by the Sudanese people as the “Flower of Friendship between Sudan and China”. It is now a cultural brand of China in Africa and the Arab region. Stunning performances staged by the Happy Spring Festival Ensemble have given a real feast to the local people, becoming a name card of Chinese culture. With regard to educational cooperation, the two countries have made fruitful achievements in this field. In 2018, over 500 Chinese students studied in Sudan while more than 3,000 Sudanese students continued their studies in China. As the growing opportunities in China ignite Mandarin fever, China has been among the top destinations of Sudanese students to further their studies. The enthusiasm about China among the youth in Sudan echoes the ancient philosophy of “seeking knowledge even if you have to go as far as China” proposed by the Prophet Muhammad. Since its establishment, the Confucius Institute in Sudan has taught the Chinese language for 29,941 people in total. A Sudanese student studying the Chinese language at the University of Khartoum who names himself in Chinese as Zhao Zhihang became the champion of the 16th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students. This attests to the high-level Chinese language teaching in Sudan.
As the saying goes, “The mirror reflects ourselves and the past sheds lights on the present.” At present, economic and social development of both China and Sudan are at a critical stage in improving quality and efficiency. While China is working hard to deepen its reform in all aspects and open itself wider to the world, Sudan is making every effort to pursue greater development. As China-Sudan relations stand at a new historic starting point in 2019, the year that marks the start of the next six decades and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sudan, China will work together with Sudan to continue implementing actively the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and enhancing mutual trust, cooperation and public support, so as to write a new chapter of the strategic partnership between China and Sudan.