China calls for more G20 efforts on African development, digital economy

HAMBURG, Germany - President Xi Jinping on Saturday urged the Group of 20 (G20) major economies to step up efforts in supporting Africa's development and building a digital economy.

He made the remarks at the two-day G20 summit in the German port city of Hamburg, which concluded in the afternoon.

Supporting Africa's development is conducive to promoting balanced and inclusive world economic growth, he said, calling on the G20 members to jointly implement the initiative agreed at last year's summit in Hangzhou, China, on supporting the industrialization of Africa and the least developed countries.

China is a sincere partner of Africa and adheres to the principles of sincerity, practical results, affinity and good faith in dealing with relations with Africa, Xi said, adding that China supports Africa's development through concrete projects with no political strings attached.

China, he said, always maintains that African affairs should be decided independently by the African people, and that Africa's path of development should be determined independently by the African people.

Xi stressed that cooperation with Africa should be proposed, agreed and led by Africa, and be aligned with Africa's own development plans.

Also on Saturday at the summit, Xi said the G20 members should build a digital economy that is friendly to growth and employment.

"We should actively adapt ourselves to digital evolution, foster new economic drives, advance structural reforms and promote integrated development of digital and real economy," said Xi.

To this end, he proposed to implement the G20 Digital Economy Development and Cooperation Initiative and the New Industrial Revolution Action Plan, both adopted at the Hangzhou summit.

The Chinese leader urged all members to cope with risks and challenges so as to steer digital economy toward openness and inclusiveness, adding that the G20 bloc needs to expand access to digital economy and reduce the digital divide between the North and the South.

"We need to pay attention to digitized production and the impact of artificial intelligence on employment in various nations, and to take active employment policies," he added.

The Chinese president also called on all parties to create an international environment favorable to the development of digital economy, better integrate their respective development strategies, and jointly improve the level of digital application.

"We should push for the construction of a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative cyberspace, and explore ways to build multilateral, transparent and inclusive international trade rules in digital sectors," he added.

The summit adopted a communique stressing the G20's common goals of tackling challenges of the times and building an interconnected world.