Ｃｅｒｅｍｏｎｙ ｆｏｒ Ｐｕｂｌｉｃａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｓｅｌｅｃｔｅｄ Ｗｏｒｋｓ ｏｎ Ａｆｒｉｃａ Ｈｅｌｄ

The ceremony for the publication of the Selected Works on Africa， cosponsored by the CPAFFC and the Chinese-African People’s Friendship Association (CAPFA)， was held in Beijing on September 1. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu， Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The People’s Daily Jiang Shaogao， CAPFA President Yang Fuchang， among over 80 leading members， experts and scholars from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China， the Development Research Centre of the State Council， and other relevant government departments， people’s organizations， and academic institutions including The People’s Daily， China Radio International， Chinese Research Society of African Affairs， etc.. CPAFFC Vice President Wang Yunze presided over the ceremony.

Included in the Selected Works on Africa are more than 100 articles， the best of the 1，400-odd articles about Africa written by Huang Zequan that have been published in newspapers and magazines. The book， covering the political， economic， cultural and various other fields， presents a full picture of China-Africa relations. It is an evidence of the development of Sino-African friendly relations since China’s reform and opening up.

Enrolled in the Beijing Broadcasting Institute in 1965， Huang Zequan started to learn Hausa， one of the native languages of Africa. Since then， he has forged an indissoluble bond with Africa. After graduation he entered China Radio International and served as a Hausa language announcer. He was transferred to The People’s Daily in 1994 and was put in charge of reporting news on Africa at the West Asia and Africa Desk of the International Department. He has written over 1，400 articles for newspapers and magazines in China and translated and compiled 28 books on Africa. These articles and books， which have not only recorded the development and changes in Africa in the past several decades， but also vividly portrayed the ever-deepening Sino-African friendly relations， serve as windows for correctly understanding Africa. As a senior editor of The People’s Daily， he loves Africa and has plunged into publicizing and studying Africa. He has made unremitting efforts to promote Sino-African friendship and become a senior specialist in African affairs in the Chinese press circles and a well-known scholar of African studies in the country.

In his speech CPAFFC President Chen Haosu said， Comrade Huang Zequan has written articles about Africa with an accumulation of 10 million words， visited 33 African countries， and have extensive and profound impact on nongovernmental diplomacy， the academic circles and social life. He is a worthy nongovernmental diplomatic envoy of China who always thinks of， loves and publicizes Africa and works hard for the friendship and cooperation between China and Africa and has made positive contributions to enabling contemporary Chinese to understand Africa and go to Africa.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Jiang Shaogao said in his speech， as editor and correspondent， Huang Zequan has written about and studied Africa for several decades， never losing heart despite repeated setbacks nor feeling self-satisfied with his own achievements. He works assiduously and perseveringly. The more than 1，400 reports he has contributed to newspapers and magazines and the 28 books he has compiled or translated are the fruit of his painstaking labour and show his persistent pursuit of the cause of Sino-African friendship for which he has devoted his youthful years. Huang Zequan is worthy to be known as the Chinese people’s friendship ambassador.

Huang Zequan now serves as vice president of the CAPFA and executive vice president of the Chinese Research Society of African Affairs. He is a specially invited research fellow of the Centre for African Studies at Peking University， the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Development Research Centre of the State Council.