The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from September 4 to 6. Following the theme “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future”, Beijing, the host city, is fully prepared to welcome our African guests. The city is committed to organizing the Summit through extensive use of technology while ensuring sustainability and cost efficiency, making thorough preparations for meeting arrangements, protocol, reception, city operations, and volunteer services.
“Interlocking Concentric Ball” at the South End of the Central Axis Landscape Avenue
The upgraded and picturesque Yanqi Resort awaits guests
The Yanqi Lake International Conference Resort serves as an important venue for diplomatic events, offering services ranging from conferences, banquets, accommodations, to cultural events. In September, the resort, upgraded in both capacity and quality, will warmly welcome numerous delegations from African countries, providing attentive service to our friends coming from afar. During breaks, guests can enjoy boating on Yanqi Lake, admire the Yanqi Tower, and take in the beautiful scenery of Yanqi Island. They can also visit the Mutianyu Great Wall to experience the grandeur of Chinese culture or explore intangible cultural heritage items like Beijing velvet flowers, silk figures, and Lord Rabbit, to enjoy a deep dive into Beijing’s unique local culture.
Innovative arrangements embody technology-culture integration
The China National Convention Center (CNCC), as a key venue for international exchanges in Beijing, has hosted significant events such as the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and three editions of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF). This year, the CNCC will offer even better experience to both domestic and international attendees through meticulous improvements.
More intelligent technologies: Guiding robots will be in place to welcome guests, answer their questions, and guide visitors in the venue. Tea ceremony and latte art robots will prepare tea and coffee in the public areas with master-level skills. In the interaction area, guests have the opportunity to create personalized posters on their story of “China-Africa Cooperation”. Additionally, they can visit the naked-eye 3D display area and take photos with the FOCAC logo, which is uniquely designed to give a sense of space and depth.
More Chinese cultural elements: In the message area, participants will have the chance to leave their mark by using seals featuring the FOCAC logo and famous Beijing landmarks on scrolls and conference materials. They can also learn traditional Chinese brush-writing techniques, leaving messages with traditional Chinese brushes for the Summit.
A low-carbon, cost-efficient, and pragmatic summit
This Summit is committed to being environmentally friendly, low-carbon, cost-efficient and pragmatic, evident in details both inside and outside the venue.
In terms of venue design, LED lights and other types of energy-saving equipment have been installed, and all temporary structures are built of recyclable materials. Table signs, lighting units, and tableware will be recycled after the event, ensuring optimal resource allocation and use efficiency. As for meeting supplies, the size of simultaneous interpretation channel cards has been reduced without compromising quality, and transparent button file folders will replace traditional conference bags, exemplifying a “penny-wise” approach to cost management. Additionally, the media center is strategically planned for easy repurposing after the Summit, allowing for its use in future events.
The landscape design focuses on reusing materials creatively, ensuring seamless coordination and balanced density, and integrating Summit elements with traditional Chinese culture. Through the use of hard landscape, roadside promotional flags and greenery designs, it creates an urban atmosphere that reflects the grandeur of a great nation, the charm of an ancient capital, openness and inclusiveness, and sincere hospitality. Three landscape installations will be enhanced with the FOCAC logo and seasonal flowers to form new and aesthetically pleasing shapes. Four three-dimensional flowerbeds and five landscape pieces will be preserved for the 75th National Day celebrations, adding to the festive ambiance. The frame structures of landscape installations and three-dimensional flowerbeds have all been reconstructed from existing materials. Nighttime lighting during the Summit will be activated only in key areas such as the Summit venue, hotels, and airports, following the protocol for major holidays, to ensure a minimalist yet captivating atmosphere.
“Ready for the FOCAC Summit” floral display at the eastern entrance of Diaoyutai State Guesthouse
“Beijing Services” showcase the charm of the capital of a great nation
Beijing has selected a total of 53 hotels to provide high-quality accommodation, catering, and transportation services. In line with the Summit’s features, cultural products highlighting traditional Chinese culture and Beijing’s characteristics will be displayed in these hotels, available for purchase. Multifunctional POS machines that accept international bank cards and mobile payments will also be in place, along with readily available change, ensuring a seamless payment experience for foreign guests. Aligned with the Summit’s overall agenda, 11 touring routes have been designed, with themes such as “Beautiful Central Axis”, “Fascinating Dual Olympic City”, and “Along the Ancient Grand Canal”, covering the city’s major cultural landmarks. These routes feature world-renowned cultural heritage sites like the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, and Beijing Central Axis, as well as Internet-famous modern attractions such as three cultural landmarks in Beijing Municipal Administrative Center, Shougang Park, and Liangma River International Style Waterfront. These tours aim to offer an all-dimensional portrayal of Beijing as a captivating city featuring a seamless blend of antiquity and modernity.
Media center delivers meticulous services powered by new technologies
The media center leverages advanced technology to deliver high-quality services to both domestic and international media outlets. At the comprehensive service desk, journalists can access multilingual services in Chinese, English, and French, for consultation, reservation and appointment, material distribution, and equipment borrowing. An LED display allows them to watch multiple sessions simultaneously, with options for multilingual simultaneous interpretation. Using artificial intelligence and a green screen virtual shooting system, journalists can create a virtual version of themselves broadcasting against the backgrounds of Beijing’s landmarks and inside the media center. Additionally, a special volunteer—a humanoid interactive robot named “Xiao Qi”—will respond to journalists’ inquiries with the assistance of staff members, ensuring efficient media support throughout the Summit.
The flags of 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China, along with the African Union flag, are displayed on the flag wall. The timeline of significant events highlights FOCAC’s development over the past 24 years and the friendship and cooperation between China and African countries. Promotional displays feature multilingual versions of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume IV) in Chinese, English, and French, providing African guests with a deeper glimpse into China’s path, governance, and philosophies. Additionally, the book Various Insights into Ancient China, official publications for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics, and the hand-drawn “Hutong Tour Map” serve as important resources for both domestic and international journalists to understand contemporary China and Beijing’s cultural allure.
Support for enterprises strengthens China-Africa cooperation
Beijing has a solid foundation for economic and trade cooperation with Africa. In 2023, the city’s annual trade with Africa exceeded 300 billion yuan, with vast potential for bilateral collaboration in areas such as digital economy, green energy, modern agriculture, healthcare, cultural tourism, and vocational education.
Taking the Summit as an opportunity, Beijing has designed three touring routes for participating guests, centered around Future Science City, Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA), and artificial intelligence. African officials and entrepreneurs will be invited to engage in face-to-face discussions with Beijing-based enterprises to create a new platform for bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The guests will have the chance to experience Beijing’s advanced intelligent manufacturing firsthand at the Xiaomi EV Hyperfactory, and gain insights into Beijing’s practices in developing autonomous driving in the Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Area, exploring new collaboration opportunities with local businesses.
Extensive public involvement shows great hospitality
Youth volunteers are a vibrant presence both inside and outside the venue. During this event, a total of 700 volunteers from 20 universities will engage in various roles, performing tasks such as consultation, translation, presentation, and media support. A group of versatile “post-00s” volunteers, equipped with proficient language skills and professional knowledge, will serve as key contributors.
Across the streets of Beijing, volunteers wearing red vests, hats, and armbands are ready to offer assistance to support the Summit.
It is always a pleasure to have friends coming from afar. As the Summit approaches, more and more Beijing residents are ready to be hospitable, confident and upbeat hosts, embracing road etiquette, green mobility, and low-carbon lifestyle. They are ambassadors for Beijing, a millennia-old capital brimming with modern vitality.
