AMBASSADOR WU PENG’S ADDRESS DURING THE CMG YOUTH IN ACTION EVENT

“I am delighted to attend the “Global Governance · Youth Action” media event. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations on the holding of this event and my sincere greetings to young friends from both China and South Africa. Although I have long “graduated” from the ranks of youth, your youthful smiles still fill me with a renewed sense of vitality.

Today, we live in an era full of challenges, changes, and hopes. Unilateralism and protectionism continue to rise, and various global issues are complex and difficult to resolve. Not long ago, President Xi Jinping put forward the global governance initiative, calling on all countries to uphold sovereign equality, abide by the rule of international law, practice multilateralism, advocate a people-centered approach, and focus on action-oriented solutions. This initiative has received widespread recognition and positive support from the international community.

As members of the Global South, China and Africa are both important forces driving the reform of the global governance system toward fairness and justice. In this new era, the younger generation of China and Africa bears the important mission of promoting dialogue and cooperation to improve global governance.

First, young people are the main force of global governance reform. As the generation most driven by ideals, they aspire most to a peaceful, prosperous, equitable, and just world. Youth forums have been established at multilateral mechanisms such as the G20, BRICS, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, providing a broad platform for global youth to contribute their wisdom and influence the world.

The future of global governance calls for more young people with international vision and cross-cultural understanding. South Africa has long pursued an independent foreign policy, upheld multilateralism, and actively participated in international affairs. I hope that all the young friends here will closely follow the international situation and contribute to the future of humanity, actively promote dialogue and cooperation, continue to participate in the global governance process, and strive to become powerful defenders of international fairness and justice.

Second, young people are the driving force behind China-Africa friendship and cooperation. China and Africa have always been good brothers and good friends. China is a trusted companion and reliable partner for African countries in their pursuit of modernization. Through exchanges, young people from both sides deepen their mutual understanding; through cooperation, they strengthen their friendship, contributing to the building of an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has consistently focused on youth issues and launched a series of youth-oriented cooperative initiatives. For example, through skills training programs such as the “China-Africa Talent Development Cooperation Program”, a total of more than 220,000 people across various fields from African countries have been trained.

The year 2026 will be the China-Africa Year of People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges. China and Africa will focus on youth and organize a series of cultural, educational training, and innovation and entrepreneurship activities. We hope to see young people from both sides strengthen exchanges and cooperation, learn from each other, and build on their friendships, to serve as a “bridge of cooperation” and a “bond of friendship” between China and Africa.

Third, young people are the driving force behind the China-South Africa relations. China and South Africa are both members of the BRICS and Global South, and we share similar positions on reforming and improving the global governance system. The two countries share a special friendship as “comrades and brothers.” Currently, the relationship between the two countries has been upgraded to an all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, providing valuable certainty and positive energy to a world fraught with change.

I am delighted to see that more and more South African youth are longing to learn Chinese culture, while Chinese youth are also looking forward to learning about the unique culture of the Rainbow Nation. I hope that young people from both countries will actively participate in exchanges and cooperation in education, science and technology, culture, media, think tanks, sports, and other fields, continuously injecting youthful vitality into the bilateral relations. The Chinese Embassy will continue to build more platforms for youth exchanges between our two nations.

Next week, the G20 Summit will be hosted in Johannesburg. This will be the first G20 Summit held on the African continent. China firmly supports South Africa’s G20 Presidency. We hope this G20 summit will leave a distinctive African imprint on global governance, and we look forward to the active participation and contributions of all the young friends here.

Finally, I wish this forum every success and all the young friends a fruitful experience!”