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Ghanaian official calls China ties friendly

Ghanaian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanna Serwaa Tetteh has called her country's ties with China "very friendly and fruitful".

"China and Ghana have a good relationship," the official said, adding that the two countries are working hard to further enhance their ties.

She said the bilateral cooperation is "effective" and the two countries continue to work together on projects of common interest.

China and Ghana enjoy a traditional friendship that dates back to the 1950s. In 1964, then Chinese premier Zhou Enlai paid a visit to Ghana.

More Ebola aid given to Sierra Leone

China handed a $15 million batch of medical supplies to Sierra Leone's government on March 13. The supplies included 40 ambulances, 10 pickup vans, 30 motorbikes and 1,000 hospital beds.

While addressing the gathering organized to mark the handover, attended by Sierra Leone President Ernest Koroma, the Chinese Ambassador Zhao Yanbo said China would not stop providing such help until "the end of Ebola."

He commended the government's progress in fighting the deadly virus, vowing "with joint efforts we will win the fight."

Zhao said he hoped the supplies would go a long way toward rebuilding the health system in the African country while at the same time intensifying the fight against Ebola.

In a sign to mark 40 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, China also donated a bio-safety lab as well as airlifting about 5,000 units of personal protective equipment for schools nationwide in preparation for the opening of schools this month.

Koroma expressed his gratitude for the gifts China had provided to his country, saying, "I don't know when to stop thanking our Chinese brothers."

He recalled that China was the first country to "come to our help at the outbreak of the virus in May 2014 by dispatching over five cargo planes loaded with medical supplies, equipment and personnel that helped in the initial fight against the virus."

Chinese firm completes $70m Namibia road

Main Road 25, built at a cost of 872 million Namibian dollars ($70 million) by a Chinese company in the northeast Zambezi region of Namibia, was inaugurated on March 13 by President Hifikepunye Pohamba.

The project involved the Chinese company MCC, in partnership with the Roads Contractor Company with funding from the Namibian government.

Stretching for about 209 kilometers, MR25 is the longest road constructed after Namibia's independence. The road connects the Wenela border post between Botswana and Namibia and the Ngoma border post between Namibia and Botswana.

In addition, the road will connect the Trans-Zambezi Highway that forms part of the Walvis Bay-Ndola Lumbumbashi Corridor. In Namibia, the road links Liselo-Linyanti-Sangwali-Kongola and Singalamwe.

Thirty-nine Namibian small to medium enterprises were sub- contracted on the project, which employed 477 Namibians.

Speaking at the inauguration, attended by China's Ambassador to Namibia Xin Shunkang, Pohamba said the road would facilitate trade between Namibia and Zambezi as well as provide an important link to facilitate more efficient movement of people, goods and services.

South Africa kicks off year of China events

South Africa officially started its Year of China on March 15, with a grand ceremony in Pretoria.

Chinese Minister of Culture Luo Shugang and South African Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa took part in the opening ceremony, accompanied by a grand concert in the Pretoria State Theatre.

Held in major cities in nine provinces across South Africa, the events will showcase China's development journey and its achievements as well as the fruitful results of China-South Africa cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma exchanged messages congratulating the launch of "the Year of China" in South Africa.

Under the framework of "the Year of China" in South Africa, both China and South Africa will hold a series of activities that will open a new chapter for people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and South Africa, Xi said in his message.

China is willing to join hands with South Africa to push for more achievements in China-South Africa cooperation as well as China-Africa cooperation, and to bring more benefits to the Chinese and African people, Xi added.

Zuma said in his message that China and South Africa's hosting of the "country year" celebrations bear a historic significance in further boosting bilateral ties.

The South African president expected the event to fully display China's enormous achievements in history and culture, as well as its national development.

Kenyan eyes unfinished business in Beijing

Since gaining a silver medal at the 2001 Africa Junior Championships, Kenyan track star Janeth Jepkosgei has become the most decorated female track athlete of her nation with 14 medals, with the 2015 season representing another chance to add to her collection.

Genial and focused, the 31-year-old athlete has her sights set on summer's IAAF World Championships in Beijing, driven by the unfinished business of seeing her thunder stolen by compatriot Pamela Jelimo in 2008, when the Chinese capital hosted the Olympics.

"My first aim is to get to the final and if I get a medal, it will be historic for me. It will be challenging in Beijing since Eunice Sum, the defending champion, will be there. We train together so she knows where I'm weak and I know where she is weak," she said.

Having been present in Kenya's world championship line-up since winning silver in 2009 in Berlin and bronze in 2011 Daegu, Jepkosgei was forced to sit out the 2013 Moscow meeting with an Achilles tendon injury.

"Going to Beijing has given me a different morale, it was somewhere I competed in a tough race with Pamela but I'm a different age. It's not when I was still young and did everything," the star explained.

Xi recognizes Kissinger as 'trailblazer'

Six months before his first state visit to the United States, President Xi Jinping sent a message about China's willingness to strengthen cooperation and dispel misunderstandings, when on March 17 he met a key figure who helped establish formal Sino-US relations in the 1970s.

Xi told former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in Beijing that both sides should manage differences and sensitive issues in a constructive manner and grasp the important opportunity to enhance the relationship.

Hailing Kissinger as the "trailblazer of this relationship", Xi said China needs a peaceful environment for development and would like to work with the US to protect the relationship and implement the consensus reached before.

(China Daily 03/20/2015 page2)