BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday sent a congratulatory message to the 37th African Union (AU) summit.

Xi pointed out that the world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the Global South represented by China and Africa is booming, which has a profound impact on the course of world history.

The AU brings African countries together to seek strength through unity, and promote integration as well as the building of free trade areas, Xi said.

The AU's successful accession to the G20 has further enhanced Africa's representation and lifted its voice in global governance, and China extends heartfelt congratulations on that, he added.

The Chinese president stressed that over the past year, China-Africa relations have grown deeper. As the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue was successfully held, the two sides decided to support each other in exploring their modernization paths and jointly create a favorable environment for realizing their development visions, Xi added.

The new session of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is going to be held in 2024, Xi noted.

He said that he stands ready to work with leaders of African countries, with a focus on the benefits of people from both sides, to draw up a new blueprint for China-Africa cooperation and promote the joint building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.

(Source: Xinhua)