The year 2022 is drawing to a close.

In the past year, the world has experienced changes unseen in a century. The changes of The Times and the epidemic of the century are superimposed on each other. We are faced with severe challenges in major power game, economic recovery, climate change and global governance.

Such changes are not limited to one particular event or one country or one region. The African continent has also gone through multiple tests, such as extreme weather, wars and conflicts, food security and humanitarian crises, under the influence of The Times.

The China Media Group's annual special article "No" says No 2022 "will review the major events that the African continent has experienced in 2022 and introduce China's commitment as a responsible major country in the face of changing times. China has taken concrete actions to implement such concepts and initiatives as building a community with a shared future for mankind and building a new type of international relations, and worked with African countries for development.

Circumstances that have given new impetus to peace and recovery on the African continent.

"This is a milestone in the development of our public transportation!"

When the governor of Lagos State, Babajid Sanwo-Oglu, experienced the Blue Line of the Lagos Light Rail built by a Chinese company, he looked out the window at the congested road and could not help but sigh: "This is a milestone in the development of our public transport!"

Lagos is the largest city in West Africa, home to 20 million people, and traffic congestion is a major problem for the local people.

Lagos Light Rail Blue Line is the first electrified light rail in West Africa. Although the first phase of the project is only 13 kilometers, the 13 kilometers carry the expectations of the local government and people for convenient transportation and happy life, and also provide experience for other countries in the construction of rail transit.

△Lagos Light Rail Blue Line, Nigeria

Venali, a 24-year-old Kenyan born in a remote village in western Kenya, had only visited the capital Nairobi once before last year. Now he works as a toll collector on the Nairobi Express road.

Built by a Chinese company, the Nairobi Express Road is the first toll road in East Africa. It passes through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Central Business District, cutting the two-hour journey from downtown to the airport to 20 minutes.

This is the first PPP project (public-private partnership) in Kenya. Chinese enterprises invest in and build the project, and transfer the project and technology to the Kenyan government free of charge after the completion of operation.

Vinali said he is very grateful for the partnership between China and Kenya, as it brings real development opportunities to Kenya, and he will try his best to work to promote the development of the country and give back to the society.

△Nairobi Express Road

Madagascar's 5A national road is in disrepair, muddy and difficult to travel, taking up to 12 hours in the dry season and two weeks or no access at all during the rainy season, making it a "nightmare" for residents along the route.

Chinese companies undertook the 5A national Road renovation project, and in less than three years, the key link between the rapid transit artery connecting the east and west coasts and the northern Ring Road network in northern Malaysia has been restored, reducing travel time to 2.5 hours.

△5A National Highway, Madagascar

Transport infrastructure is the most fundamental link in Africa's development. Only by connecting rural areas with cities and cities with the rest of the world can we promote the flow of people and goods and drive local economic and social development.

Since the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2000, China and Africa have jointly built more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads and nearly 1,000 Bridges. A series of landmark projects have brought tangible benefits to local communities.

It is the holiday season and tickets for the Mombasa-Nairobi railway in Kenya have been sold out a month ago. The African people have their own opinions on whether China-Africa cooperation projects are good or not.

The four prime ministers gathered for the ceremony

What kind of engineering achievement can bring together four African prime ministers?

The answer is the Guina hydropower station, built by a Chinese company.

Located in Mali and developed by the Senegal River basin, the Senegal hydropower Station is expected to produce 621 million KWH of electricity per year, making a significant contribution to the joint development of natural resources, renewable energy and sustainable development of the region.

Mali's Acting Prime Minister Abdoulaye Mayiga, Senegal's Prime Minister Amadou Ba, Mauritania's Prime Minister Mohamed Bilal, Guinea's Transitional Government Prime Minister Bernard Gumu and ministers from the four countries attended the completion ceremony. More than 500 local people sang and danced to celebrate the completion of the hydropower station.

△Kuina hydropower Station

In Zambia's Lusaka province, residents have been plagued by water shortages.

Mwan, a local resident, told state media that residents could not wash their clothes, bathe or even flush toilets when the water was cut off.

To solve this water dilemma, Chinese companies have applied a full set of "Chinese technical standards" to the Kraft River Water Supply project in Zambia, which is a comprehensive water supply project integrating water intake system, water purification system and water delivery system. It will provide 50,000 cubic meters of clean water to local residents every day.

Zambian President Bulgarian Hichilema said at the completion ceremony, "These projects that benefit the people of Zambia are very important to us, because these are the livelihood projects that the Zambian people desperately need."

△Kraft River Water supply Project

Burundi, located in the heart of Africa, is known as the "Land of a thousand mountains" and is one of the least developed countries in the world.

Before this year, no new power plant had come on line in Burundi for more than 30 years. The capital, Bujumbura, relies on imported fuel oil to generate electricity.

To help Burundi solve its electricity shortage, Chinese companies have undertaken the Huzibazi hydropower project, dubbed the "Three Gorges Project of Burundi".

The Huzibazi hydropower station, completed in September, will supply the entire city of Bujumbura and increase Burundi's electricity capacity by nearly a third.

Burundian President Ndayishmiye expressed deep feelings at the completion ceremony, saying that he has visited China many times to learn from its development experience and that the Chinese people have created brilliant achievements through their own hands. He called on the Burundian people to learn from the dedication of the Chinese people and make more contributions to the social and economic development of Burundi.

△Huzibazi hydropower Station project

Clean energy and clean water are essential elements for the livelihood of African people and the development of African countries.

Chinese companies have helped African countries take advantage of their natural conditions to develop hydropower, wind power and photovoltaic power generation projects. The water supply project in Angola's Cabinda province has enabled local people to go to the river for water in the dark, and the Sakai photovoltaic power station has enabled the Central African Republic, where only 8% of the population has access to electricity, to see thousands of lights at night.

China-africa cooperation in energy, water and other livelihood projects has provided the African people with electricity and water of comfort.

"The local people were surprised to see how much corn we could produce."

Maize is one of Kenya's staple foods, but it is not self-sufficient.

Several countries in the Horn of Africa, including Kenya, have suffered five consecutive rainy seasons of low rainfall due to persistent drought, leading to significant crop losses.

The China-Africa Joint Research Center in Kenya in April trialled a local white maize variety using Chinese planting management techniques, increasing yields by about 50 percent to 2,700 kilograms per acre.

Yan Xue, Chinese director of the China-Africa Joint Research Center, said, "When local residents saw our corn production, they were very surprised, especially in the severe drought this year. They did not expect such a good yield.

Robert Gitulu, the center's Africa director, says Chinese technology makes farming easier and is suitable for teaching farmers.

In the next step, the China-Africa Joint Research Center will also prepare pamphlets based on successful experiences and distribute them to surrounding farmers, aiming to spread the most efficient technology to them in the simplest way.

△The trial planting of local white maize varieties at the China-Africa Joint Research Center yielded a bumper harvest

Hybrid rice is an important technology that keeps China's grain silos plump. In recent years, it has also become a new attempt to solve the food crisis in African countries.

In June this year, a Chinese company held a promotion meeting in Nigeria for the project of "helping West African countries build a rice planting system", and the yield of Chinese hybrid rice trial varieties introduced this year has increased by 30 to 55 percent compared with the main local varieties.

In addition, the project of the Nigerian Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center built with Chinese assistance was officially handed over to the Nigerian government in December. The project helps Nigeria improve crop yield and agricultural modernization through China's modern agricultural technology.

△Chinese experts and Nigerian farmers check the growth of rice at a demonstration planting site

Whether it is the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative or the Nine Projects for China's cooperation with Africa, food security has always been one of the priority areas of China's cooperation with Africa.

In addition to planting technology and introducing seeds, China is also actively helping African countries set up processing plants for agricultural products and training agricultural personnel. The corn flour processing plant in Zambia built with the assistance of the Chinese government was delivered in June this year, and the China-Benin Training course on cotton agricultural machinery Technology was successfully held in May this year.

Kenya's first China-Africa Model village for Agricultural Development and poverty reduction was inaugurated in Matangitysa village in Nakuru County in October.

At this year's May Day celebration in Burundi, Burundian President Ndayishimiye presented a certificate of honor to Yang Huade, the head of China's agricultural aid team, which shows that African countries are increasingly recognizing and trusting China's agricultural technology.

△Burundian President Ndayishmiye presented a certificate of honor to Yang Huade, head of the Chinese agricultural aid team

African Ambassador to China Cloud belt goods experience shelf "seconds empty"

From April to May this year, "the 4th Shuangpin Online Shopping Festival and African Good Things Online Shopping Festival" was held across the Internet.

"Silk Road E-commerce" partner country Ambassador to China Kimmonio participated in the live delivery. After Kimmonio's enthusiastic speech, hundreds of bags of coffee in Rwanda went empty as soon as they were put on the shelves.

This is not the first time he experienced the "seconds of the void". In December last year, he brought 3,000 kilograms of Rwandan coffee beans to the studio and prepared six or seven speeches, only to be shocked when the shelves were cleared by one second.

△Rwandan Ambassador to China Kimonio introduced the products

The CIIE in November has become a stage for African products to shine. A number of African specialties, such as red wine from South Africa, coffee from Ethiopia, chili from Rwanda, honey from Zambia and avocados from Kenya, have become star products of the CIIE.

More than 100 African companies from more than 30 African countries participated in the Expo, with products ranging from food and agricultural products to handicrafts.

Every year at the Expo, there are some special "booths", which are free booths provided by the Expo for exhibitors from least developed countries. This year, Guinea-Bissau, an African country participating in the Expo for the first time, brought cashew nuts, which are the sixth largest in the world, to the Expo. Antonio Serifo Nbalo, Ambassador of Guinea-Bissau to China, said that through the Expo,

It can display products that Guinea-Bissau can export to China and develop relations with different countries in the world.

△Guinea-bissau cashew stand at the 5th CIIE

On August 2, 88 tons of fresh avocados were packed into four containers using Chinese preservation technology at the Sanripu plant in Limuru town, Kenya, and set off for China.

This is the first export of fresh African avocados to China, and the avocado export project has become an early harvest in Kenya of the "Nine Projects" trade promotion project between China and Africa.

China and Zimbabwe signed the Protocol on Export of Zimbabwean Citrus to China. After entering the Chinese market, the off-season supply of Zimbabwean citrus will perfectly complement the local Chinese citrus in the market, which can not only effectively alleviate the tight market demand in China, but also help the local poverty reduction and benefit farmers in Zimbabwe, and promote the recovery and development of Zimbabwe's agriculture.

The move is also part of China's efforts to promote trade with Africa and establish a "green channel" for African agricultural products to be exported to China.

△Chinese customs carried out inspection and quarantine on fresh avocados exported from Kenya to China

China is increasingly willing to open its markets to Africa.

Starting from December 1 this year, China will implement zero tariffs on 98 percent of tariff items from 10 least developed countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Afghanistan, Lesotho, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of SAO Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

In July this year, Hunan opened the first international cargo route to Africa, "Changsha-Addis Ababa" cargo route, which operates twice a week and is expected to carry 17,000 tons of cargo annually.

In addition, China is actively cooperating with African countries to carry out training on digital innovation and cross-border e-commerce, so as to help African products enter the Chinese market through digital transformation.

△"Changsha-addis Ababa" cargo route

"China and Africa have always been good friends, good partners and good brothers sharing weal and woe"

2022 will be a year of great challenges and tests for both China and Africa. However, China-Africa friendship has never faded, no matter how the international situation changes.

China has actively provided vaccines and supplies to Niger, Togo, Senegal and other countries, helping the African continent quickly recover from the economic and social development affected by the epidemic.

The "China Film Week", the "China Film Exhibition", the martial arts competition and other diverse cultural exchange activities have been vigorously carried out to let African friends know and understand China.

Projects such as the ICT Competition, Luban Workshop and Beidou Cooperation have been launched in Africa, helping the African continent get on board the express train of development in the digital era......

China has made no reservations in its cooperation with African countries. We have always followed the principles of sincerity, affinity, good faith and the right approach to justice and shared interests. The results of our cooperation are tangible and tangible to the Chinese and African people.

We believe that under the guidance of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Action Plan of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China-Africa cooperation will show greater potential and bring more development opportunities on a new journey in the new era.

(Source: Chinese Embassy in DRC, from CCTV News)