Forty-five African officials from partner countries of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the African Union participated in a training course focused on poverty alleviation.

The training held in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region began on October 19 and will end on October 26.

During the event, they will engage with local experts, scholars, entrepreneurs, and frontline workers.

The programme will include special lectures, on-site visits, and educational sessions covering topics such as poverty alleviation and reduction, economic and trade cooperation, rural revitalisation, and green development, according to the organisers.

Ningxia is one of the main battlefields of China’s poverty reduction efforts.

Over the years, continuous anti-poverty efforts from the national and regional governments lifted all 1,100 impoverished villages out of poverty.

A total of 803,000 people have shaken off poverty since 2011.

In the meantime, active exchanges between Ningxia and Africa have been maintained over the years.

Since the first medical team was sent from Ningxia in 1978 to provide medical assistance in the Republic of Benin, more than 660 doctors in 28 batches have been dedicated to the country’s medical service; three even sacrificed their lives.

Ningxia’s trade volume with Africa reached 1.61 billion yuan ($226.8 million) in 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 27 per cent.

The regional enterprises have carried out industrial and mining investment and infrastructure construction in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, and Ethiopia.

(Xinhua/NAN)