President Xi Jinping has called for more closely connecting China's development with Africa via capacity cooperation to improve infrastructure and expand the pool of talent for African nations.

Xi made the remarks at a meeting with Nkosaza Dlamin-Zuma, chairwoman of the African Union Commission.

Xi said China highly values its relations with the African Union and supports the organization's "significant role" in Africa's development and integration process, as well as in international and regional affairs.

Xi also proposed to strengthen cooperation with African countries in disease prevention and control, and to increase people-to-people exchanges to "nurture new highlights".

Zuma said African countries are willing to enhance cooperation with China in the process of realizing their own development strategy-the Agenda 2063.

The agenda is "a global strategy to optimize use of Africa's resources for the benefit of all Africans", according to the African Union's website.

Liu Guijin, former special representative of the Chinese government for African affairs, said the highlights of Xi's visit to Africa this time will be the connection of national development strategies and people's dreams.

"In history, there is no other country like China that would be willing and able to connect its own national development with the entire African continent." Liu said.

"It demonstrates China's will to shoulder more responsibility and help the world develop. The mindset here is, without the development of Africa, there will be no development of the world."

Liu added that the increase in Chinese projects in Africa will be better organized to give a stronger push to all nations' development.

After his visit to Pretoria, Xi left for Johannesburg to chair the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, whose theme is "Africa-China Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development."

Wu Yushan, a researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, who is a South African-born Chinese, said: "You have a China-Africa relationship that is at the high diplomatic level and one at the people level: I think this FOCAC could be about bringing these two levels closer together so that the relationship gets closer to the people themselves, both Chinese and African."

Andrew Moody contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at zhaohuanxin@chinadaily.com.cn