The Ambassador of the People Republic of China (PRC) to Liberia, Ren Yisheng, has extolled the win-win relationship subsisting between his country and Liberia, especially noting that the China-Liberia brotherly, friendship and pragmatic cooperation have a long history. Using the occasion of the 70th Commencement Convocation of the Booker Washington Institute where he proffered remarks on February 26, 2022, Ambassador Yisheng recounted the long-standing ties between the two nations, and expounded on the vast economic cooperation ties that continue to produce tangible results for the development of Liberia.
“China-Africa and China-Liberia brotherly friendship and pragmatic cooperation have a long history. President Xi Jinping, when addressing the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Dakar, Senegal last November, emphasized that the key for an everlasting spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation forged between the two sides lies in sincere friendship and equality, win-win for mutual benefit and common development, fairness and justice, and progress with the times and openness and inclusiveness.
“By upholding the concept of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and following the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests, China actively promotes the development of China-Africa and China-Liberia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and safeguards the common interests of the vast developing countries. In recent years, China-Africa and China-Liberia win-win cooperation, by docking the BRI and FOCAC action plans with African Union Agenda 2063 and Liberia’s Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development(PAPD), has focused on economic growth and development, reducing poverty through human resource capacity development, to ensure sustainable peace and security on the continent and in Liberia,” Ambassador Yisheng stated.
China, according to Ambassador Yisheng, has been and will continue to be a good friend to Liberia, noting that under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and President George Manneh Weah, by docking the initiative of BRI with that of PAPD, China and Liberia have steadily advanced their pragmatic cooperation in various fields such as economy and trade, infrastructure construction, agriculture, education, and public health with fruitful achievements.
Recounting the Tangibles
Attempting to showcase the tangible results of the brotherly and pragmatic relationship that continues to fuel the strong ties between the two countries, Ambassador Yisheng enlightened his audience on some of the good tidings that his country has offered Liberia and continues to offer.
“China has been fully involved in Liberia’s postwar recovery – from providing support to the UN peacekeeping effort, to infrastructure development and human resource capacity development. China is the first foreign country to rush to support Liberia’s fight against Ebola in 2014 and Covid-19 in 2020. Since 2020, China has donated 4 batches of anti-epidemic materials including surgical masks, PPEs, infrared thermometers, ventilators, oxygen concentrators, etc. to Liberia and we have offered to develop vaccine cooperation with Liberia.
“As the stock of Chinese aid and investment in Liberia grow progressively, China is now one of the major development partners in Liberia. Some of the completed and on-going projects include the Ministerial Complex, the Annexes to the Capitol Building and SKD stadium all in Monrovia, the new Roberts International Airport terminal and runway in Margibi County, the University of Liberia Fendell Campus, the Monrovia Vocational Training Center (MVTC), the renovated Tapeta Hospital, and the Agricultural Demonstration Center Project in Bong County, Bamboo & Rattan Weaving and Vegetable Planting Technical Cooperation Project in Monrovia and Bomi County respectively. New projects including the Overpass Bridges on Tubman Boulevard, Road and Bridge linking Somalia Drive and Sinkor Area, and Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) expansion project all in Monrovia, as well as the Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment Lab at the 14th Military Hospital in Margibi County are making steady progress(for more information, please visit our embassy’s website at: http://lr.china-embassy.org/chn/,” Ambassador Yisheng stated.
The Chinese envoy also provided information of his country’s assistance in the area of agriculture.
“I would like to give you a bit more information about the agricultural cooperation projects. The Demonstration Center which is near CARI enrolls 10 local young people for vegetable cultivation training for a term of 3 months each. Trainees are provided with meals and $50 subsidy every month. It has expanded its pig breeding scale from 60 heads to 140 heads and has newly added a wood processing and production line to create more job opportunities for local people. For the Bamboo and Rattan Project, more than 900 technical young people engaged in bamboo and rattan weaving and vegetable planting have been trained, and the weaving products and vegetables planted by graduates account for about 50% of the market share. If BWI students are interested in getting trained there, we will be glad to refer you to the two projects,” Ambassador Yisheng informed the graduates.
Regarding direct technical support through trainings, Ambassador Yisheng said people-to-people exchanges are an important means of deepening the understanding and friendship between the people of China and Liberia. In this regard, he said the Chinese government has, over the years, provided a large number of scholarships and training opportunities to Liberian participants.
“Every year, several dozen full scholarships for bachelor, master or PHD degrees are offered and hundreds of Liberian government officials, scholars, medical doctors and technicians participate in short-term or long-term training scholarship programs. Every year, our embassy also provides Ambassador’s Scholarships to more than 100 students of excellence from University of Liberia, Cuttington University and Tubman University. Since 2020, most of the exchange programs have been delayed by the pandemic. While on-line programs have been offered since last year, we are trying our best to resume the off-line exchange programs,” Ambassador Yisheng noted.
Touching on the role of the Booker Washington Institute (BWI) in filling the void of technical, hands-on professionals in Liberia, Ambassador Yisheng lauded the institution for being the premier agricultural and vocational school in Liberia that has graduated hundreds of thousands of students over the past century.
“We laud the academic achievements of the Institute and pay our tribute to the management and instructional staff one generation after another for your contributions. In recent years, there have been some useful exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese side and BWI whereby some of your instructional staff have participated in and benefited from the short-term training programs in agriculture area offered by our government. We have received BWI’s request for the resumption of the exchange programs in agriculture and other technical/vocational areas. I am delighted to inform that your requests have been included into the 2022 short-term training programs offered by the Chinese government.
“Once the long-term training scholarship scheme is launched, we will positively consider the application by your instructional staff. Meanwhile, given the uncertainty of the pandemic, we encourage the instructional staff to positively consider attending the on-line training courses on sugar refinery and edible mushroom technologies respectively offered exclusively to participants from developing countries. By participating in these programs, it will not exclude your opportunities to participate in the long-term training scholarship programs in the future. I am also pleased to announce that the Embassy will donate 2,000 US dollars to BWI for school clinic expansion, together with a batch of books and VCDs about China and 10 footballs.
“Liberian young talents represent the future of your nation and you must give full play to your own advantages and maximize your wisdom to promote sound and rapid economic and social development of your country. In order to do so, BWI students should make up your mind and work hard to learn knowledge, participate in social practice, gain experience, face difficulties squarely and adopt positive attitude towards society and life. At the same time, you are expected to continue to inherit and carry forward the brotherly bond between the peoples of our two countries and contribute to China-Liberia friendly relations and cooperation. With our joint efforts and contribution, we are convinced that China-Liberia friendship and cooperation will be further strengthened and developed in the years to come with a bright future,” Ambassador Yisheng enjoined the young graduates.
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