On November 21, 2022, Director-General Wu Peng of the Department of African Affairs of Foreign Ministry, upon invitation, attended the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development and Cooperation and delivered remarks.

Wu Peng said that the Indian Ocean is one of the regions in the world with the most promising potential for development, and African countries are an important part of it with full vitality. China and Africa enjoy a time-honored friendship. China has become the most important partner in development and cooperation for most African countries. Fruitful results have been yielded in China-Africa cooperation in the blue economy, marine governance and conservation, seabed resources development, and other fields. The 20th CPC National Congress successfully concluded not long ago systematically and deeply expounded on the essential features of Chinese modernization, including harmony between humanity and nature and peaceful development, blazing a new path for the development of human civilizations. China stands ready to work with Africa to follow the philosophy of green and peaceful development, and strengthen cooperation in various fields within the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to deliver benefits to the two peoples. He believes that China-Africa cooperation will make steady progress and inject more fresh impetus into development and stability in the Indian Ocean region.

The forum was co-hosted by China International Development Cooperation Agency and the People's Government of Yunnan Province, under the theme of “Shared Development: Theory and Practice from the Perspective of the Blue Economy”, and was attended by political dignitaries and scholars from African countries including South Africa, Tanzania, and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean region.