Opening A New Chapter

China, Mauritius celebrate 50th anniversary of bilateral ties
By Zhu Liying

Zhu Liying, Chinese Ambassador to Mauritius (Supplied)

The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Mauritius formally established diplomatic relations on April 15, 1972, making China one of the first countries to establish diplomatic ties with Mauritius. Over the past half a century, both countries have persisted with developing the bilateral ties based on mutual respect, mutual understanding, mutual support, equality, and mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. Mutual trust between the governments and peoples of the two countries has been consolidated, with fruitful trade and economic cooperation and prosperous people-to-people exchange. The bilateral relationship has become an exemplary example of South-South cooperation.

The past 50 years have seen frequent high-level contacts between the two countries, with more than 20 high-level visits to each other taking place in the past 10 years alone. In 2018, the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Mauritius and the visit of Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth to China outlined a grand blueprint for the development of the bilateral relations and pointed out the way for pragmatic cooperation in various fields.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, both countries and peoples have been supporting each other to overcome the difficulties. Various communities in Mauritius donated money and supplies to support China’s fight against the pandemic, while China was one of the first countries to provide assistance to Mauritius when the pandemic hit the country. In particular, at the critical moment when Mauritius was in urgent need of vaccines, China promptly lent a helping hand and provided vaccines four times in a short period, making important contributions to the Mauritian Government’s vaccination campaign and the reopening of the borders.

China has been the largest trading partner of Mauritius for years. The economic and trade cooperation between the two countries is pragmatic and efficient, covering various fields such as agriculture, manufacturing, investment, finance, hi-tech and architecture. In January 2021, China-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the first FTA between China and African countries, came into force, injecting new impetus to China-Mauritius economic and trade cooperation.

Chinese customs statistics show that in 2021, the trade value between the two countries increased by 25.8 percent, with Mauritius’ exports to China up by 35.1 percent. Mauritian products such as sugar and Phoenix Beer are becoming more and more popular in the Chinese market. Major projects built with Chinese assistance, such as Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation Building, Bagatelle Dam, and Cote d’Or National Sports Complex, have become symbols of China-Mauritius friendship, and have also helped bring a better life to the Mauritian people.

A parade of the lion and dragon dance group organized by the Chinese Cultural Center in Mauritius on the eve of the Spring Festival in 2020 in Port Louis (Supplied)

In recent years, Huawei and other Chinese hi-tech companies have participated in the Safe City and Smart City projects in Mauritius, promoting the local development of 4G and 5G technologies. Great potential for cooperation is to be tapped in areas such as blue economy, green energy, medicine and tourism. Under the FTA framework, the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries will be further expanded and deepened, bringing new benefits to both countries and peoples.

Chinese culture is an important part of the diversified culture of Mauritius, which is the only African country that has made Chinese New Year an official holiday and the first foreign country that has printed Chinese faces on its banknotes. Here, Chinese elements such as Chinatown, Chinese restaurants and lion and dragon dances can be seen everywhere.

People-to-people exchange has been fruitful over the past 50 years. In 1988, the first China Cultural Center overseas was inaugurated in Mauritius, bringing a new driver to the cultural and educational cooperation between the two countries. The cultural delegations of both countries have maintained frequent exchanges. Activities jointly organized by the cultural center and Mauritian Government, such as Happy Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival-A Moment to Remember, Chinese Tourism and Culture Week, Dragon Boat Festival, Food Festival, together with other events, have become signature programs. More and more young Mauritian people choose China as their destination for overseas study. They then become builders of their country and envoys connecting the two countries’ nongovernmental exchanges. Also, even faced with the outbreak of the pandemic, exchanges have continued in new ways with rich cultural content presented online.

Fifty is the age when a person knows the biddings of heaven, as said by ancient Chinese thinker Confucius. Moving forward on the 50th anniversary, the China-Mauritius relations are standing at a new starting point. Looking ahead, there is great potential for bilateral cooperation.

In November 2021, at the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Senegal, China and Africa jointly identified nine programs for future cooperation, covering medicine and health, poverty reduction and agricultural development, trade promotion, investment promotion, digital innovation, green development, capacity building, cultural and people-to-people exchange, and peace and security, which is set to bring more opportunities for China-Mauritius cooperation. The entry into force of the China-Mauritius FTA and the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area have enhanced the role of Mauritius as a bridge for cooperation between China and Africa.

We believe that in the future, the two countries will continue to work together to enhance mutual trust, promoting economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchange, and taking China-Mauritius friendly relations to a new level!

This article was first published in ChinAfrica magazine