BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday started holding bilateral events with foreign leaders who will attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), scheduled for Sept 4 to 6 in Beijing.

Xi met with Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and held talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also in Beijing for a state visit.

During his meeting with Tshisekedi, Xi said the two sides have been advancing practical cooperation in various fields since the upgrade of bilateral ties and have become a model for developing countries to jointly promote modernization, recalling that China and the DRC elevated the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in May 2023.

China is willing to consolidate political mutual trust and seek common development with the DRC, deepen bilateral cooperation in agriculture, mineral processing and vocational training, and continue to help the DRC turn resource advantages into growth drivers, he said.

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Xi stressed that at the upcoming FOCAC summit, China and Africa will announce a new positioning of China-Africa relations and a series of major measures for jointly advancing modernization, thereby drawing a new blueprint for China-Africa relations.

Tshisekedi said the DRC regards China as the most prioritized cooperation partner and keeps deepening bilateral friendship and practical cooperation in various fields.

The FOCAC has provided important opportunities for African countries to realize the dream of development, he said, adding that he believes the summit will be a complete success and bring more tangible results to African people.

During the summit, China and the DRC will sign bilateral cooperation documents on jointly developing economic partnership, human resource development, customs capacity building, and journalism.

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Xi will attend the summit's opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech on Sept 5. He will also host a welcome banquet for the leaders and representatives attending the summit.

Following the 2006 Beijing summit, the 2015 Johannesburg summit, and the 2018 Beijing summit, the upcoming summit is another event gathering members of the friendly family of China and Africa. It is also the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.