Upgrading African ties

HALF A CENTURY AGO, THEN-CHINESE PREMIER Zhou Enlai's first visit to Africa laid the cornerstones of the Sino-African relationship as good friends, good brothers and good partners.

Premier Li Keqiang's ongoing four-nation visit, also his personal first to Africa, is aimed at an "upgraded version" of the fraternal ties that have been forged.

During his visit to Africa in 2013, President Xi Jinping put forward the concept of a "Sino-African community of shared destiny". He pledged to always treat African countries with "honesty, truthfulness, affinity and sincerity".