China gears up for key summit with African nations
President Xi Jinping has met a number of African leaders who are in China attending an international summit. The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will be held from Wednesday to Friday, and is aimed at further boosting ties between Beijing and the continent. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malian President Assimi Goita and Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were among those meeting Xi in Beijing on Monday. Xi said a new positioning of bilateral ties and a series of major measures for jointly advancing modernisation will be unveiled at the summit, drawing a new blueprint for China-African relations. The summit is being billed as the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years. Xi will deliver a keynote speech on Thursday. (Xinhua and agencies)