Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Monday urged the world community to attach greater importance to Africa and support the countries and peoples on the continent to seek development and maintain peace and stability.

"There can be no world peace and prosperity without the development and progress of Africa," Yang told a roundtable during a United Nations high-level meeting on Africa's development needs.

More than 40 heads of state and government from around the world and representatives from international organizations attended the one-day event.

"The international community should pay greater attention to Africa, support the efforts by the governments and peoples of Africa in their development, continue to maintain the peace and stability of Africa, implement assistance commitments, strengthen Africa's capacity-building, and help Africa cope with global challenges," Yang said.

China's cooperation with Africa is an important part of South-South cooperation, and further strengthening friendly collaboration with Africa and supporting the continent's efforts to achieve peace and development is a policy unswervingly pursued by China, Yang said.

For more than five decades, the Chinese government has provided assistance within its ability to Africa, the minister said, noting that within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China has written off 308 tranches of debt owed by 34 African debt-stricken and least developed countries and trained more than 22,000 Africans in various fields.

China will continue to enhance communication and coordination to further implement the achievements of the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, with concrete and effective measures to support Africa's development and advance the new type of strategic partnership between China and Africa, Yang said.

In the next five years, the minister said, China will provide further assistance to African countries in such areas as agriculture, education, health and clean energy.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2008)