China is also willing to use its world-leading technologies in high-speed trains to help improve pan-African communication and development.

In the financial area, Li said China has decided to increase its loans for African countries by 10 billion dollars, which brings the total pledged amount to 30 billion dollars, and to expand the China-Africa development fund by 2 billion dollars to 5 billion dollars.

As to poverty reduction, China will train 2,000 agricultural technicians and management personnel for Africa in the coming five years, and tilt its assistance toward such welfare areas as drinking water and prevention and control of epidemics.

ROBUST CULTURAL EXCHANGES

China and Africa have brilliant cultures, Li said, adding that mutual respect and learning between civilizations and cultures is conducive to diversity of world civilizations and multi-polarization.

Cultural exchanges between the two have yielded fruitful results in various fields, and "China factor" has aroused interest in African people as China seeks to bolster its cultural bond with Africa.

Several Chinese television series, such as "A Beautiful Daughter-in-Law" and "Beijing Love" resonate with African audiences who come across the same problems in their families.

"One of the attributes that makes China a great nation is their hard-workingness, creativity and patriotism," Rose Namayanja, Uganda's minister of information and national guidance, has said, adding that "I trust the films will entertain and mobilize Ugandans to emulate and adopt those similar values."

The Confucius institutes serve as another channel for African students to get closer to the Chinese culture and learn the Chinese language.

Now about 30 Confucius institutes have been set up across Africa, offering various language courses and lectures, exhibitions and performances to African students.

In addition, several Chinese cultural groups visited Africa to showcase Chinese culture, a critical factor in boosting people-to-people exchanges.

On the other hand, China welcomes African artists, academicians and young people to see by themselves China's rich cultural heritage.

China has also increased its scholarships for African students, who later returned home with a love for Chinese culture.

Theo, a young Ghanaian, who has been studying international journalism and communication for three years at a university in Beijing, said he has discovered quite a few similarities between his homeland and China, both undergoing vast changes amid fast development. "It would be a great opportunity to observe and study the process in real time," he said.

The Chinese premier said China will carry out its African talent plan in an all-round manner and will provide African countries with 18,000 government scholarships and help them train 30,000 professionals as scheduled.

Unlike the West, which tries to exert cultural dominance over Africa, China has many common values with Africa and seeks to bolster its cultural bonds with the continent on the basis of respect for Africa's diversified cultures.

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