By Issah Mohammed
Accra, Sept 27, GNA – Mr LU Kun, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, says a strong relationship between Ghana and China is key to ensuring that both countries overcome regional and international challenges.
He observed that a strong collaboration and partnership grounded in friendship and trust would yield fruits for their peoples.
He explained:“Dear friends, there is a Chinese saying that goes: “When brothers are of the same mind, they have the power to cut through metal.
“In the face of regional and international challenges, as long as China and Ghana stay together, we will surely bring prosperity for the two peoples. China-Ghana relation will become stronger and closer.”
The Ambassador was speaking at a reception to mark the 74th Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Hosted by Mr Lu Kun at his residence in Accra and attended by high profile dignitaries, including the Second Lady, Mrs Samira Bawumia, the Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Works and Housing, Mr Francis Asenso Boakye, members of the Diplomatic Corps, the Chinese business community and residents in Ghana, the grand reception was charaterised by rich Chinese cultural displays.
This year marks the 63rd anniversary of the diplomatic ties between China and Ghana, a friendship nurtured by Chairman MAO Zedong, Premier ZHOU Enlai and President Kwame Nkrumah.
Ambassador Lu noted that China and Ghana had been good friends, good partners and good brothers and supported each other in bilateral and multilateral endeavours.
The strong ties had yielded fruitful results, delivering tangible benefits to their respective citizens.
For instance, bilateral trade volume, last year, reached an unprecedented high of about US$ 10.2 billion, with Ghana’s exports to China surging by 60 per cent during the period.
“Ghana firmly abides by the one-China principle. Ghana also actively supported China in human rights, UN resolutions and elections of international organizations.
“President Akufo-Addo and President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages on National Day and each other’s birthday,” he highlighted the cordial relations that existed between both countries.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he indicated that China had provided a large amount of anti-pandemic supplies to Ghana where the first chartered flight containing anti-pandemic supplies donated by the Chinese government to African countries landed in Accra.
“Despite the pandemic, aid projects including the Jamestown Fishing Port and the University of Health and Allied Sciences Phase II are progressing steadily,” he said.
Ambassador Lu emphasised that people to people exchange had been among the priorities of China-Ghana cooperation.
“It is in this regard the Chinese government recently completed vocational institutions upgrade project in April 2022; and has also established three Confucius Institute in the University of Ghana, the University of Cape Coast, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
“It is estimated that more than 6,500 Ghanaian students to study in China, ranking the second among all African countries for many consecutive years,” he said.
He explained that China had the goodwill and determination to ensure that no nation was left behind in developing its human resources for sustainable development.
“We are in the 10th year since President Xi Jinping put forth the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith for China’s relations with Africa,” he stated.
“Africa has always been a diplomatic priority for China. China remains Africa’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years.
“In the first seven months of this year, China’s trade with Africa hit around 150 billion US dollars. By the end of 2020, Chinese companies had invested more than 43 billion US dollars in Africa.”
It has supported countries to build energy generation stations in Africa and helped trained large number of young workers with technical skills to boost industrialisation.
For his part, Mr Asenso-Boakye, who represented the President, said, lauded China for being a dependable partner in Ghana’s socio-economic development efforts over the years.
Ghana was appreciative of support received in various sectors of the economy notably – education, health, road infrastructure, defence, agriculture, communication, and fisheries.
He noted that although trade between the two countries remained stellar, there was still the need for balanced trade and investment.
It was, therefore, imperative to find new avenues for economic cooperation to enable the commercial partnership to grow further.
“We, in Ghana, believe that by fostering a win-win cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, Ghana, will have a greater chance of realising its developmental objectives,” the Minister added.
GNA