An Eternal Good Friend of The Chinese People

On March 8， 2010，Burundian First Vice President Yves Sahinguvu and his wife and entourage arrived in Beijing at the invitation of the CPAFFC.

He is an honorary member of the Burundi-China Friendship Association. Since he assumed his present political office in 2007， he has devoted himself to developing friendship between the two countries. Every time the Chinese Embassy in Burundi holds a National Day reception， an evening party celebrating the Spring Festival and activities celebrating the Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai World Expo， for example， he always attends to give an enthusiastic speech. Burundian newspapers， radio and television have given detailed reports about these activities， thus expanding China’s influence in Burundi and enhancing the understanding between the two peoples. To visit China had been his long-cherished wish. He noted that China had changed from a poor and backward country into the world’s third largest economy and the second largest financial power. He believed that one day China would surely become the world’s most powerful country. As an old friend of China， he felt it was essential to make a visit to see for himself the earthshaking changes the country had undergone in the past 30 years.

The briefing given by Zhuo Qinrui， Vice Mayor of Shenzhen， was one of the highlights of the visit. Zhuo told the visitors from Africa that Shenzhen was a young city with a history of only 30 years， developing from a small backward border town into a city with the fastest growth in China. The city’s GDP ranks the fourth among the nation’s big and medium-sized cities， next only to Shanghai， Beijing and Guangzhou. Sahinguvu said that the achievements of Shenzhen， particularly in the fields of new and high technologies， finance and transportation， were extremely admirable. Burundi， he noted， had received great support and assistance from China in the fields of telecommunications， education and health. He hoped that the two sides would conduct more cooperation and exchanges in the future and that， in 30 years’ time， the Burundian people could lead an affluent life just like the people in Shenzhen.

Sahinguvu is in charge of the Burundi’s foreign affairs and internal security. He was greatly interested in his visit to the camp of a fire brigade under the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau， where he watched a fire- fighting performance and sought information about fire-fighting apparatus and equipment. When he saw lightweight fire-fighting coats， he began to ask in detail about their performance， price and manufacturer and was full of praise for them. He told the Burundian Ambassador to China accompanying him to contact the manufacturer so that Burundi could import the coats to equip its own fire brigades.

The climate and vegetation of Guangdong Province are similar to those of many African countries. The local people in Guangdong are warm and hospitable， open-minded and ready to cooperate. Many heads of state of African countries visit Guangdong during their stay in China and Vice President Sahinguvu was no exception. He visited the Guangdong Agri-machinery Research Institute， the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and the No. 1 Hospital Attached to Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Burundi is an agricultural country with 98 % of its population engaged in agriculture. Burundi’s coffee and tea are well-known and exported to Europe. Sahinguvu said that， after years’ civil war， Burundi was now on the right track to peace. Its relations with its neighbors were much improved and the national economy was gradually recovering. Burundi strongly hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in the agricultural field. For this reason， he was very interested in the low-powered tractors， harvesters， threshers and agricultural product processing machines that he saw in the Guangdong Agri-machinery Research Institute. He said that he would invite Chinese agricultural technicians and experts to Burundi to provide guidance and training. He hoped that China would establish an agricultural demonstration center in Burundi so as to help it raise the level of agricultural mechanization.

On the morning of March 14， Vice President Sahinguvu concluded his visit to China. Before his departure， he seemed reluctant to part and shook hands with CPAFFC Vice President Feng Zuoku in farewell， saying， the visit to China had been the most unforgettable in his life and that he would forever be a good friend of the Chinese people.

Major media in Burundi gave full coverage of his visit. The formal invitation extended by CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and the letter of thanks written by Vice President Sahinguvu to the CPAFFC for its warm reception were splashed across the front pages of the main newspapers， fully demonstrating the Burundian people’s friendly sentiments towards the Chinese people.