The special forum “2026 Global Mayors Dialogue · Beijing: Enhance Cultural Exchange and Mutual Learning, Inherit the Time-honored Friendship between China and Africa” was held on June 3 in Beijing. Mayors, deputy mayors, and representatives from seven African countries and cities were invited to discuss new opportunities for China-Africa cooperation.
This year marks the “China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges” and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Africa. El Hadji Saer Faye, deputy mayor of Ziguinchor, Senegal, said that after years of development, Africa-China cooperation has expanded from traditional fields to areas such as scientific research and people-to-people exchanges. Going forward, Africa and China should deepen cooperation, continue to expand sister-city partnerships, and promote regular exchanges among youth, teachers, cultural and arts professionals, and entrepreneurs. He also proposed carrying out cooperation in creative industries and intangible cultural heritage protection, and strengthening mutual learning mechanisms in areas such as social governance.
As an ancient Tunisian city with a thousand-year civilization, Tozeur is known as the “Gateway to the Sahara”. Rached Nasser, Secretary General of Tozeur Municipality, said that Tozeur has continued to improve its tourism infrastructure and services and has adopted a multi-pronged approach to attract more Chinese tourists. To address local challenges such as desertification, Tozeur looks forward to more cooperation with Beijing and other cities to jointly promote development in culture, tourism, and ecology.
Morocco is the first country in North Africa to sign a cooperation plan with China on jointly building the BRI. Khalid El Fataoui, Representative of the Mayor of Marrakech, Morocco, said that it is vital for enterprises of the two countries to build cooperation ties. For example, Morocco’s specialty products such as artisanal silk and wine could be combined with China’s mature experience in e-commerce operations to incubate cross-border entrepreneurship projects, thereby achieving coordinated and sustainable economic and cultural development.
The exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought new opportunities for China-Africa cooperation. As a core hub for Beijing’s AI development, Haidian District is home to 37 universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, and has attracted a wealth of AI talent and more than 2,000 AI enterprises. Sui Xiaofeng, Vice Mayor of Haidian District, said that the district will leverage its strengths as a global hub for scientific and technological innovation, focus on areas such as AI, the digital economy, and smart cities, encourage high-quality enterprises in the district to expand cooperation in African markets, and promote the application of more cutting-edge sci-tech achievements, so as to improve people’s wellbeing and support urban development through sci-tech innovation.
