BEIJING, December 24. /TASS/. China is ready to join efforts with Russia in order to spur the African countries’ economic development, a Chinese diplomat said on Thursday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website.

"The Chinese side is poised to cooperate with Russia on issues related to this region on a regular basis," head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s African Affairs Department Wu Peng told the 3rd round of Chinese-Russian consultations on African issues. "We are ready to join forces with Russia to contribute to Africa’s economic development."

According to the diplomat, Beijing hopes to develop active cooperation with Moscow in this direction "taking into account the African side’s interests." Furthermore, Wu Peng underlined that "China and Russia are important partners for Africa." "We have come to terms on a wide range of issues and set similar goals in regard to the activities aimed at supporting African countries’ development," he said.

Vsevolod Tkachenko, the Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of Africa, took part in the event from the Russian side. At the talks, the Russian and Chinese counterparts discussed measures to combat the pandemic in the region, as well as effective formats to advance cooperation with the continent.