On April 9, a video conference was held to commemorate the anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping's congratulatory letter to the inauguration of the China-Africa Institute (CAI). Cai Fang, CASS vice president and president of the CAI, attended the conference and delivered a speech. Li Xinfeng, executive vice president of the CAI presided over the meeting.

Cai said that in President Xi's keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September 2018 and in his letter to congratulate the inauguration of the CAI on April 9, 2019, Xi drew a blueprint for the development of China-African relations, interpreted the action plan for China’s cooperation with African countries, and pointed out the movement towards mutual learning among Chinese and African civilizations and academic resources. He also raised an ardent hope for researchers studying Africa to make contributions to the development of the China-Africa relationship and building a community of shared future for mankind, Cai said. He added that studying and understanding the spirit of Xi's speech and congratulatory letter is of great significance for African studies and all studies of international issues, helping us strengthen cooperation with African academic circles, think tanks and third-party research institutions.

First of all, we should conduct research on African culture, economy, social development and China-African relations with the goal of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In addition, China-Africa academic exchanges and think-tank cooperation should be carried out based on equal communication among developing countries, aiming to benefit people on both sides. Also, we will push forward the Belt and Road construction on the basis of co-construction, sharing, mutual benefit and win-win results, boosting the development of China-African relations. Last, we will strengthen the studies and sharing of both sides' governance and development experience through mutual learning among civilizations and people-to-people exchanges.

Over 90 scholars from China and Africa attended the online conference. They held discussion on such issues as studying and implementing the spirit of President Xi's letter to congratulate the inauguration of the CAI and China-Africa cooperation in combating the novel coronavirus pandemic.