Liu said that China is the largest developing country in the world, and Africa is the continent with the largest number of developing countries. Shared past experiences and similar historical missions have brought China and Africa close together. China and Nigeria are both major developing countries. The traditional friendship between the two countries has withstood the test of time and grown even stronger and bilateral pragmatic cooperation has achieved fruitful results. Both sides have coordinated closely and supported each other in international and regional affairs. In recent years, under the joint guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the China-Nigeria strategic partnership has shown good momentum of development, and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have also kept pace with the times and seen increasing development. China-Nigeria cooperation has become a model of international cooperation.

Liu noted, the concept of “harmony” is the soul and essence of the traditional Chinese culture, and has been deeply integrated into the major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Also, a distinct connotation of “harmony” finds expression in the Nigerian culture. The adherence and inheritance of the “harmony” culture between both countries have not only become the common cultural foundation of our long-standing traditional friendship, but also injected strong impetus of thought into writing a new chapter of friendly cooperation between the two peoples in the new era. Edify people with culture, then their minds will be connected closely. The beauty of culture lies in the fact that different cultures should prosper respectively and together. The launching of Contemporary World Nigeria provides both sides with an important medium of idea exchange and mutual learning, and a solid bridge for the media and think tanks of both sides to strengthen cooperation.

Geoffrey Onyeama congratulated the CPC on the successful convening of the 20th National Congress and its important achievements. He said that China is a trusted cooperation partner of Nigeria, and Nigeria-China cooperation can help Nigeria accelerate development. Africa-China relations have been thriving in recent years. And the cooperation between Africa and China is not only for the development of both sides, but also for the rest of the world, and aims at promoting global peace, security and development. It is expected that the academic journal－Contemporary World Nigeria will promote the exchanges of ideas and contribute more enlightment to building global consensus and jointly coping with the issues of peace, security and development crises.

Representatives from the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, China Institute of International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University, china.com.cn and relevant departments attended this event. Chinese and Nigerian scholars have conducted in-depth discussions on deepening China-Africa friendly exchanges and cooperation around the theme of “harmony” culture.

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