Liu Guijin:Catalyst of China-Africa Friendship

By staff reporter DU CHAO

EXCHANGES between China and Africa are of a long standing and well-established nature， dating back to the Han Dynasty （206 BC - AD 220）. According to historical records， Chinas goods such as silk were introduced to Egypt around that time. With the development of the ancient Silk Road， China-Africa exchanges increased， and China-Africa relations got closer.

From Chinas support for the national independence and liberation of African countries to African countries support for the restoration of Chinas legitimate seat in the United Nations， and from Chinas assistance to African countries in building railways to boost economic development to their cooperation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic， the China-Africa friendship has remained unshakable and become even firmer with the passing of time. Over the course of China-Africa exchanges， many people have dedicated their careers to the enhancement of bilateral ties and cultivation of friendship， and Liu Guijin is one of them.

Deepening Friendship

Liu was born in Yuncheng County， Shandong Province in August 1945， and began his dream job of working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following his graduation from university. In 1981， Liu started his diplomatic career abroad. He progressed from serving as attaché and secretary of Chinese embassies abroad in the early 1980s， to serving as counselor in the early 1990s， as ambassador in the mid-1990s， and then as the first special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs in 2007. Liu has worked in African countries for decades. He is both a witness and a contributor to China-Africa friendship.

“With the exception of just two countries which had not yet established diplomatic relations with China when I worked there， I was fortunate enough to visit the other 52 African countries，”Liu said proudly， referring to his deep friendship and understanding of the continent.

Speaking of China-Africa relations， Liu said frankly that friendly relations between China and Africa have not been achieved by a single action. Take South Africa as an example. Due to Chinas limited influence in the international arena in the 1970s， Chinese people walking in Western dress and leather shoes on the streets of Africa were assumed to be Japanese by the locals.

With the strengthening of Chinas national power and increase in people-topeople exchanges between China and South Africa， and with the unrelenting efforts of Liu and his colleagues， the situation gradually turned around during his tenure as ambassador to South Africa. South Africas tourist and street signs have changed from being in English and Japanese to being in English and Chinese. The Japanese Ambassador to South Africa said to Liu that when Japanese tourists travel to South Africa， the locals initially think of them as Chinese.

During the 1980s and early 1990s， the consular department of the Chinese embassy in South Africa consisted of just two personnel， and only a few hundred visas were issued per year. During Lius tenure in South Africa， in addition to setting up a consular department com- posed of five people in the embassy in Pretoria， there were also three consulate generals respectively in Johannesburg， Cape Town， and Durban. Later， the staff of each consulate general was expanded to 10. A large number of visas were issued every year to allow South Africans to do business， visit， or travel in China.

At the turn of this century， Western countries still held much sway over perspectives in Africa. Their vilification and smearing of China added a lot of trouble and challenges to Lius work. Liu recalled the South African media and other African media were mostly privately owned， whose views were greatly influenced by the Western media， including their views on China which were negative in many cases. Dealing with the media and correcting their misunderstanding of China were important tasks that lay in front of him.

The method he adopted was to actively engage with the media. Unless there was a scheduling conflict with his diplomatic activities， Liu never refused any media interview in South Africa. He once participated in three seminars in various places in a single day to explain to the public and the media Chinas policy toward Africa and views on some issues. He never avoided harsh questions， but instead communicated with the media in a frank， realistic， and open manner. This method received good results. Through his unremitting efforts， the local media no longer indiscriminately made negative coverage of China.

Promoting Peace

Western media and politicians desperately discredited China on the Darfur issue in Sudan in 2007. In the face of huge international skepticism， China set up the post special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs. This move attracted widespread international attention.

After Liu stepped down as ambas-sador to South Africa， he took on this arduous post. He recalled that under the circumstances at that time， the special representative was given two missions. The first was to mediate peace in Sudan to quell the war. The second was to let the outside world understand Chinas position.

As Chinas first special representative on African affairs， Liu started non-stop work after taking office in May 2007. He often traveled to Africa three times in a month， twice of which were to the turbulent Darfur region. After Sudan agreed to deploy an African UnionUnited Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur， the over one million refugees in Darfur came one step closer to returning to their homes. The opposition faction began to negotiate with the government， and the two sides began to move in the direction of peace and stability. The international community praised this progress as “unprecedented，” and many leaders thanked China for its constructive role in this regard.

During this process， Chinas foreign policy was widely recognized by African countries. “Because China is not seeking geopolitical interests like some other countries， the establishment of the special representative post demonstrates Chinas support for the mediation efforts of the African Union and the United Nations， and its commitment to seeking peaceful resolution of the Darfur issue on the premise of non-interference in Sudans internal affairs，” said Liu.

Liu recalled that when he visited Sudan for the first time after serving as the special representative， the Sudanese foreign minister knew that Liu had not seen the president and was about to leave. “The special representative is so important. How can he not meet the president？” the minister said anxiously. The Sudanese president sent his private plane to pick him up and organized thousands of people in Darfur to wel- come this special Chinese representative. This gesture fully demonstrated the Sudanese governments trust in and regard for the special Chinese representative.

Cherishing High Aspirations

After retirement， Liu feels that there is still a lot of room for Chinas research and education toward Africa. With the belief that young people determine the future， he turned from politics to academia， using his rich experience in Africa to actively engage in the work of cultivating the next generation of China-Africa relation builders.

In November 2010， he was hired as the dean of the China-Africa International Business School （CAIBS） of Zhejiang Normal University. In September 2016， he became the honorary dean and the chief expert of China-Africa economic and trade development of the CAIBS. He led a team in creating English-language classes for international economics and trade， exploring cooperation with famous African universities， advancing research on economy and trade with Africa， publishing Translated Collection of China-Africa Economic and Trade and guiding other teaching and research work. Liu has also made fruitful contributions in such fields as student exchanges and teacher exchanges with famous South African universities， as well as in building exchanges and cooperation platforms such as the China-Africa Think Tank Forum， the China-Africa Economic and Trade Forum， and the China-South Africa Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum. In 2019， CAIBS won the Special Contribution Award for Zhejiang-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation. In the same year， the Africa-related research projects of five teachers were approved by the National Social Science Fund.

On June 29， the Communist Party of China （CPC） awarded the July 1 Medal to outstanding members right before the Party celebrated its centenary on July 1 this year. As the first special representative of the Chinese government on African affairs， Liu was awarded for his outstanding contributions to advancing the friendly relations and cooperation between China and Africa. Chinese President Xi Jinping， also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee， conferred the medal， the Partys highest honor， on Liu.

In his view， it is a great honor and achievement to receive the medal. This medal is not just awarded to him personally， he is only a representative of Chinese diplomats.

“Many of my acquaintances and colleagues congratulated me. Working conditions in Africa are really difficult. Some of my colleagues work in environments considerably more difficult than what I have encountered， and they have faced more difficulties， but they all stick to their posts in Africa. This kind of spirit is commendable. It is precisely because of the hard work of generations of diplomats that the Sino-African relationship is now at a ‘brother-in-armslevel. This medal is a collective honor for all diplomats， including those who work in Africa，” Liu said.